Imaging Biomarkers – From Research to Clinical Practice
Edwin van Beek,
SINAPSE Chair & Director, Clinical Radiology & Clinical Research Imaging Centre,
University of Edinburgh
Radiologic imaging has progressed from the mere morphologic and anatomic description, to include quantifiable markers of disease and function. This progression is driven by the need for imaging-based biomarkers to enhance the performance of clinical trials, but is also increasingly seen as a key parameter to be included into routine clinical practice. Thus, imaging is capable of diagnosis, evaluation of extent of disease, and ultimately measurement of treatment response. This allows it to be at the heart of patient management, giving excellent input into the prognostic management. The tools required to make this a reality are largely already present or under development. Imaging has become multimodality, allowing for precise identification of disease down to the level of molecular imaging. Software tools for visualisation are increasingly sophisticated, and many allow for quantification including CT, MRI and PET applications. For clinical trials, these methods are applied for the identification of subjects that are targeted for inclusion, the application of response assessment, and thus the ultimate test: “to determine effectiveness of a new therapy”. For routine applications, these developments are slowly making their way into the routine, although many hurdles are still to be taken, including workflow and integration of various methods. This presentation will give some highlights of areas of research where the methods are relatively advanced, and some examples of where routine applications are being implemented.
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