| Summary: | Weiqing Wang,1,2 Zhenhua Gao,2 Lu Wang,2 Jianing Li,2 Jinming Yu,1,2 Shumei Han,2 Xue Meng2 1School of Clinical Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong 261053, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250117, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xue MengDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250117, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 0531-67627081Email mengxue123999@163.comAbstract: Recently, immunotherapies that target the interactions of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) with its major ligands, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed death ligand 2 (PD-L2), have achieved significant success. To date, several immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway have been developed to treat melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and urothelial carcinoma. Despite promising outcomes with immunotherapy, there are many limitations to several current immune biomarkers for predicting immune benefits and to traditional imaging for evaluating the efficacy and prognosis of immunotherapy and monitoring adverse reactions. In this review, we recommend a novel imaging method, molecular imaging. This paper reviews the application and prospects of molecular imaging in the context of current immunotherapies in regard to the following aspects: 1) detecting the expression of PD-1/PD-L1; 2) evaluating the efficacy of immunotherapy; 3) assessing patient prognosis with immunotherapy; 4) monitoring the toxicity of immunotherapy; and 5) other targets imaging.Keywords: tumor, immunotherapy, PD-1, PD-L1, PET, SPECT
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