Back to sessions
Sep 28
Education

EDU 23 - Functional Imaging Guided Radiation Therapy: Current Status and Future Directions

10:45am - 12:00pm ET

MODERATOR(S)

Yue Yan, DSc, PhD - Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

session DESCRIPTION

Functional imaging is rapidly moving from "better pictures" to actionable biology that can shape what we treat, how much dose we prescribe, and when we adapt during a course of radiation therapy. This extended session will provide a deep dive into the current state of functional imaging guided radiation therapy across cancer sites, including but not limited to lung, head and neck, prostate and brain. We will highlight established roles for PET and CT in target definition, focal dose escalation, and response adapted management, and emerging approaches that integrate functional MRI techniques such as diffusion, perfusion and spectroscopy to characterize intratumoral heterogeneity and support biologically informed adaptation. The session will also cover functional normal tissue assessment and avoidance strategies across organs at risk, emphasizing how quantitative imaging can help preserve organ function while maintaining tumor control. Finally, an expert panel will focus on practical barriers and future directions, including standardization and quality assurance, uncertainty quantification, image registration and segmentation, workflow integration, and clinical trial designs needed to demonstrate benefit and accelerate safe adoption.

learning objectives

  1. Summarize the current clinical indications and evidence base for functional imaging guided radiation therapy across multiple cancer sites, including applications for target definition, focal dose escalation, and response adapted management.
  2. Identify key technical, workflow and standardization requirements needed to implement functional imaging guided planning and adaptation, and to design studies that rigorously evaluate safety and clinical benefit.

Credits

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits: 1.00

Rate This Session

Presentations