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32.1 Introduction
Tremendous progress has been made in the understanding of
molecular mechanisms of many devastating diseases such as
cancer and atherosclerosis (Choudhury et al. 2004, Hanahan
and Weinberg 2000, Packard and Libby 2008). It has been shown
that molecular events associated with disease progression can
be valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Furthermore,
this better understanding of molecular mechanisms of dierent
pathologies has inspired novel molecular-oriented therapeutic
strategies. ese advances necessitate the development of tech-
nologies for molecular-specic imaging, therapy, and therapy
monitori ...