Molecular Imaging of Steroid Receptors in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Steroid receptors regulate gene expression for many important physiologic functions and pathologic processes. Receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and androgen have been extensively studied in breast cancer, and their expression provides prognostic information as well as targets for therapy. Noninvasive imaging utilizing positron emission tomography and radiolabeled ligands targeting these receptors can provide valuable insight into predicting treatment efficacy, staging whole-body disease burden, and identifying heterogeneity in receptor expression across different metastatic sites. This review provides an overview of steroid receptor imaging with a focus on breast cancer and radioligands for estrogen, progesterone, and androgen receptors.