Advances in the Treatment of Oligometastatic Disease: What the Radiologist Needs to Know to Guide Patient Management

Rationale and Objectives: An ever-expanding body of biological, genetic, and clinical evidence has brought to light the presence of the oligometastatic state of cancer, which is considered between localized disease and widespread metastases. Indeed, in some patients with oligometastatic disease, curative therapy is possible. Conclusions: For select cancer histologies, aggressive focal therapy of oligometastatic lesions is already the clinical standard of care (i.e. colorectal cancer and sarcomas), while for other tumor types the evidence is still emerging (i.e. prostate, breast, etc.). It is increasingly important, therefore, for the radiologist interpreting oncology patients' staging or restaging examinations to be aware of those diseases for which targeted therapy of oligometastases may be undertaken to effectively guide such management. The improved imaging resolution provided by technological advances promise to aid in the detection of subtle sites of disease to ensure the identification of patients with oligometastases amenable to targeted treatment.