Imaging and its Impact on Defining the Oligometastatic State

Successful treatment of oligometastatic disease (OMD) is facilitated through timely detection and localization of disease, both at the time of initial diagnosis (synchronous OMD) and following the initial therapy (metachronous OMD). Hence, imaging plays an indispensable role in management of patients with OMD. However, the challenges and complexities of OMD management are also reflected in the imaging of this entity. While innovations and advances in imaging technology have made a tremendous impact in disease detection and management, there remain substantial and unaddressed challenges for earlier and more accurate establishment of OMD state. This review will provide an overview of the available imaging modalities and their inherent strengths and weaknesses, with a focus on their role and potential in detection and evaluation of OMD in different organ systems. Furthermore, we will review the role of imaging in evaluation of OMD for malignancies of various primary organs, such as the lung, prostate, colon/rectum, breast, kidney, as well as neuroendocrine tumors and gynecologic malignancies. We aim to provide a practical overview about the utilization of imaging for clinicians who play a role in the care of those with, or at risk for OMD.