Despite its increased use in research and clinical routine, there are still no standardized criteria for the use of amino acid PET in brain metastases. These have now been established by an international research group, the so-called RANO group, led by oncologist Matthias Preusser from the Medical University of Vienna and nuclear medicine specialist Nathalie Albert from the LMU Hospital in Munich. Maximilian J. Mair and Anna S. Berghoff (Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine I) from MedUni Vienna are also involved in the ground-breaking work. The criteria, called "PET RANO BM 1.0", are the first to define a standardized procedure for assessing the metabolic response of brain metastases to treatment. This means that PET imaging could be integrated more closely into clinical trials in future in order to evaluate new treatment options in a targeted manner.

"The introduction of the new criteria is an important step towards improving the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of brain metastases," says Matthias Preusser, Head of the Division of Oncology at MedUni Vienna. It may also allow a more precise distinction to be made between genuine tumor changes and treatment-related effects such as tissue damage following radiotherapy. "This could not only optimize patient care, but also accelerate the development of innovative treatment strategies," adds Nathalie Albert, Senior Physician at the Department of Nuclear Medicine at LMU Hospital in Munich and Professor of Nuclear Medicine with a focus on neuro-oncology.