Clinical and Preclinical applications of PET, CT and MRI in cancer research

Level: Basic Course description: Traditionally, oncologic imaging is used to define location and size of the primary tumor as well as detect infiltration of adjacent structures and local or distant spread of cancer cells. Based on this staging information a treatment regimen is recommended according to standard of care guidelines. With the advent of more specific therapies, extensive evidence suggests, that this traditional staging based on tumor size (T), lymph node involvement (N) and distant spread of disease (M), is not sufficient and that molecular or morphological subtypes of the cancer should be considered before choosing individual treatment regimen. Multimodal imaging represents one of the promising approaches for non-invasive tumor stratification. This course is designed to introduce the various imaging modalities and suitable animal models for preclinical studies exemplified by gastrointestinal and lung cancer. We focus on the clinically available imaging methods CT, PET, MRSI and DW-MRI. In theoretical lectures, students will learn about physics of different imaging methods, endogenous and transplanted rodent tumor models, clinical applications of discussed methodology and basic concepts of statistical analysis of the imaging data. In practical training sessions participants will perform imaging analysis of distinct subtypes of pancreatic cancer and correlate it with corresponding histology. Course goal: The overall aim of the workshop is to introduce multiple imaging and image analysis methods available at TUM to the students. Furthermore, pros and cons of different preclinical rodent tumor models (e.g. endogenous versus transplanted) regarding the application of different imaging methods will be discussed. Exam: written exam