Current Perspectives on (89)Zr-PET Imaging

(89)Zr is an emerging radionuclide that plays an essential role in immuno-positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The long half-life of (89)Zr (t(1/2) = 3.3 days) is favorable for evaluating the in vivo distribution of monoclonal antibodies. Thus, the use of (89)Zr is promising for monitoring antibody-based cancer therapies. Immuno-PET combines the sensitivity of PET with the specificity of antibodies. A number of studies have been conducted to investigate the feasibility of (89)Zr immuno-PET imaging for predicting the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy and antibody therapies, imaging target expression, detecting target-expressing tumors, and the monitoring of anti-cancer chemotherapies. In this review, we summarize the current status of PET imaging using (89)Zr in both preclinical and clinical studies by highlighting the use of immuno-PET for the targets of high clinical relevance. We also present (89)Zr-PET applications other than immuno-PET, such as nanoparticle imaging and cell tracking. Finally, we discuss the limitations and the ongoing research being performed to overcome the remaining hurdles.