Image Guided Cancer Therapy Training Program

Imaging is a critical component in the detection, characterization and treatment of cancer. The rich information content of advanced imaging methods, combined with the growing capacity to collect multiple types of images from various sources and time points during therapy creates an exciting opportunity for image-based guidance and assessment of interventions for radiation oncology, surgery, and interventional radiology. In addition, the development of novel treatment techniques, including radiation, minimally invasive surgery or targeted ablation, requires an accurate assessment of the treatment results for personalized medicine. The ability to personalize treatment is critically dependent on our ability to precisely measure and relate the delivered treatment with the corresponding outcome. Quantitative assessment of therapeutic response through anatomical, functional, and metabolic imaging has been identified by the NIH has a critical component in the advancement of local therapies. Consistent longitudinal acquisition, correlation, and evaluation of these quantitative imaging biomarkers across multiple therapies has the potential to improve the local control and reduce toxicities, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes through better cancer control and quality of life. These exciting advances has led MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop an Image Guided Cancer Therapy Research Program, which is empowering multidisciplinary teams of scientists and physicians to address clinical challenges and technology barriers. The goal of this training program is to provide multi-disciplinary research training for tomorrow’s pioneering leaders in image guided cancer therapy, including surgery, interventional and diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, and correlative pathology, using advanced imaging, navigation, and analysis techniques. This training program is unique in that it trains, within a single program, both scientists and clinician scientists working in image guided cancer therapy in all three focal therapy disciplines of surgery, radiation oncology, and interventional radiology.