“Imaging and image guidance in lung cancer therapeutics”

No other field in medicine utilizes imaging more in day to day practice than radiation oncology. Fundamentally, imaging in the form of computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (U/S), mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and fluoroscopy among others guides all treatment decision making. No sites of disease are these tools perhaps more necessary than in the radiation treatment of lung cancer. Thoracic malignancies are more than likely found in advanced, disseminated states as a consequence of the late symptoms manifested by the tumor´s anatomic locations. As such, non-invasive imaging is critical to diagnosis, defining the extent of disease, and helping demarcate tumor from normal tissue structures as part of radiation treatment planning. Image guidance is also manifest to accuracy of radiation delivery and helps clinical teams identify how successfully therapy is delivered. This talk will summarize the use of imaging and image guidance in radiation treatment of lung cancers.