WEEKEND EDUCATIONAL COURSE
Cancer Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Clinical and Research Applications

Organizers: Jeffry R. Alger, Ph.D. Daniel B. Vigneron, Ph.D.
Skill level:  Basic

Sunday, 4 May 2008

Overview:

This one-day course focuses on cancer and MRS. The first part will describe how clinical  MRS is used to evaluate cancers that occur in various body systems. It will also cover current efforts using MRS for cancer therapy planning and outcome assessment. The focus will be on clinical studies in human patients. This part of the course will introduce the basic technological underpinnings of MRS and discuss the biochemistry and metabolic features associated with signals that are detected with MRS. The second part will describe how MRS is used for the study of cancer-related animal models and tumor samples.  It is hoped that the second part of the course will prepare participants for new cancer-related MRS applications that may emerge in the next few years.

Educational Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the basic MRS technology that is used in human cancer patients, animal models of cancer and tumor tissue samples;
  • List the specific biomarkers of cancer that can be measured with MRS ;
  • Explain how MRS biomarkers are used for diagnosis of cancer, for therapy planning and for therapeutic outcome assessment; and
  • Describe how other imaging techniques relate to MRS biomarker assessment in cancer.

    Audience Description:

    This course is designed for physicians (radiologists and oncologists) and for research scientists who wish to be updated on the current state of the art in MRS techniques and clinical applications.

         
      Part I: Clinical MRS Applications  
    8:30 Clinical MRS Techniques and Systems Arend Heershap, Ph.D.
    9:00 Biochemistry and Metabolism of Choline Compounds Kristine Glunde, Ph.D.
    9:30 Assessment of Breast Cancer with MRS Patrick J. Bolan
    10:00 Assessment of Brain Cancer with MRS Franklyn A. Howe, D.Phil.
    10:30 Break  
    10:30 - 10:45 Meet the Teachers  
         
    11:00 MR Spectroscopic Biomarkers of Prostate Cancer John Kurhanewicz, Ph.D.
    11:30 Assessment of Prostate Cancer with MRS N.R. Jagannathan, Ph.D.
    12:00 Break  
    12:00 - 12:15 Meet The Teachers  
         
    13:30 Assessment of Head and Neck Cancers with MRS Amita Dave, Ph.D.
    14:00 MRS as a Radiation Therapy Planning Tool Geoffrey S. Payne, D.Phil.
      Part II: MRS in Cancer Research  
    14:30 In Vitro MRS Evaluation of Tissue Samples Ingrid S. Gribbestad, Ph.D.
    15:00 Break  
    15:00 - 15:15 Meet the Teachers  
         
    15:30 Introduction to Cancer-Related MRS Research in Animal Models Jean-Philippe Galons, Ph.D.
    16:00 Multinuclear MRS in Animal Models Zaver Bhujwalla, Ph.D.
    16:30 Therapy Assessment in Animal Models with MRS Sabrina M. Ronen, Ph.D.
    17:00 Metabolic Studies of Cancer with Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 Kevin Brindle, D.Phil.
    17:30 Adjournment  
    17:30 - 17:45 Meet the Teachers