113IN - Oncologic Imaging 2012: From Morphology to Function

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose To demonstrate new trends and developments in oncologic imaging in 2012. To show how functional imaging influences treatment decisions in patients with malignancy. Summary In oncologic patients, imaging is the most important biomarker determining the stage and spread of disease as well as treatment success. Novel targeted therapies lead to delayed or absent changes in size of tumors and metastatic lesions. New strategies in imaging are needed to depict treatment effects with respect to lesion vascularity and vessel density. Functional imaging tests aim at the determination of these changes rather than at the depiction of morphologic alterations of lesions. Modalities used for functional imaging include time-resolved perfusion CT, dual energy CT, diffusion weighted MRI and perfusion MRI. To date, only few studies investigate the usefulness of these tests in patients on targeted therapies. This presentation will feature information on the technical background of functional CT and MRI and assess their use in patients that are treated with antiangiogenic drugs. Both animal and human studies will be presented and the importance of early response imaging will be highlighted. The role of radiology as essential link between different medical fields becomes more and more important in the era of personalized medicine, and radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and oncologists have to be aware of specific imaging characteristics of findings in functional imaging tests. This presentation will include methodological and educational content as well as interesting case studies highlighting the importance of the most advanced imaging strategies to aid treatment decisions. Disclosure A. Graser: Disclosures: Speaker's Bureau, Siemens Healthcare and Bayer Healthcare