Molecular imaging research in the outcomes era: measuring outcomes for individualized cancer therapy.

A recent trend in cancer treatment has been termed individualized or targeted therapy and has the goal of matching cancer treatment to the characteristics of the patient and the biologic features of his or her tumor (1, 2). As cancer treatment moves toward more targeted and individualized therapy, there is an increasing need for tools to guide therapy selection and to evaluate response. In particular, to make appropriate choices for therapy, the cancer physician needs to know the following: