The development of mass cytometry and its subsequent adaptation for the analysis of histological sections has revolutionized the way to spatially characterize multiple components simultaneously, allowing genotypic and phenotypic correlation of the cell and its environment during clinical-translational studies. In this paper, we have reviewed the most relevant milestones in the development, implementation and applicability of multicomponent image analysis for the study of cancer and other diseases, and focused our interest on those authors who use images obtained by mass cytometry or ion beam. This review aims to familiarize the reader with the technical strategies of verification of the tool and the multiple possibilities of use addressed by different authors, and also to be able to project their own research towards the use of images obtained by mass cytometry (IMC), or multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI) in any of the fields of biomedical research.