From the RSNA refresher courses: MR imaging in hyperthermia

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics

Background:

• Clinical evidence supports combining radiation therapy and hyperthermia for cancer treatment.
• Effective hyperthermia requires accurate temperature measurement, which is complex in heterogeneous tumor tissues.
• Current thermal dosimetry methods face challenges in precision and applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging in monitoring hyperthermia therapy.
• To evaluate MR imaging's potential in assessing treatment response and guiding therapy.
• To investigate MR imaging for predicting outcomes in combined cancer treatments.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing MR imaging's sensitivity to proton resonant frequency and diffusion coefficient changes for temperature monitoring.
• Employing MR imaging to assess vascular parameters for patient selection and response evaluation.
• Exploring MR imaging for potential use in determining local drug delivery with thermally sensitive liposomes.

Main Results:

• MR imaging enables non-invasive monitoring of temperature distribution during hyperthermia.
• MR imaging can assess tumor vascularity, aiding in patient selection and early response detection.
• MR imaging shows promise for quantifying drug delivery in future targeted therapies.

Conclusions:

• MR imaging is a valuable tool for real-time monitoring and control of hyperthermia treatments.
• MR imaging enhances the precision and efficacy of combined radiation and hyperthermia therapy.
• Future applications of MR imaging in hyperthermia include personalized treatment and drug delivery assessment.