Clinical applications of long axial field-of-view PET/CT scanners in oncology

purpose to provide a comprehensive overview of the current main applications of long axial feld-of-view (LAFOV) PET/ CT in oncology. methods relevant studies published from 2017 up to september 2022 were selected by searching scopus, pubmed, and web of science. the following data were extracted: characteristics of studies and patients, technical aspects, and usefulness of the LAFOV PET/CT in the oncological setting. selected imaging studies were analyzed using a modifed version of the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP). results seventeen papers were fnally selected: 12 (70.6%) were retrospective, while 5 (29.4%) were prospective, with an overall number of 877 included patients. most of the studies (14/17, 82.4%) employed [ 18F]-FDG as a radiopharmaceutical agent, 2 papers used [ 68Ga]-PSMA-11 and 1 employed mixed tracers. eleven studies were focused on protocols at low/ultralow activity or with fast/ultra-fast scanning time, 3 papers compared the performance of LAFOV PET/CT scanners with that of conventional (standard axial feld-of-view/SAFOV) devices, 4 were total-body PET dynamic studies. conclusions LAFOV PET/CT showed superior diagnostic performance than traditional SAFOV devices, allowing reduced activity/time and dynamic protocols. the applications of this novel technology in some clinical settings, mainly the pediatric population, are promising but should be a topic of future investigations