“In cancer imaging, it is of key importance to really be able to assess the effectivity of the treatment as early as possible. And what we are doing today using just two-dimensional measurements often is not sensitive to subtle changes,” comments Anno Grasser, MD, Department of Clinical Radiology at the University Hospital Munich Grosshadern, Germany. An accurate diagnosis, precise staging, and a thorough treatment plan for tumors are the first important phases that need to be devised and undertaken to lead a cancer patient into remission. However, care should not and does not stop there. Another important phase for effective treatment and control of cancer is the monitoring of the therapy. Until recently, there were barriers to assessing cancer, especially when it came to evaluating the effects of a particular therapy.

Cancer assessments, for the response evaluation of solid tumors, are today performed based on Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria. For these standard parameters the 2D axial image with the tumor’s maximum diameter has to be found. The diameter of the tumor is then usually measured manually. Since the boundary conditions for reading the case can change, this means that tumor sizes are not always exact and that there can be interobserver variability – each radiologist could see the tumor differently.
syngo^® CT Oncology, a state-of-the-art imaging technology software solution, was designed to fast-track routine diagnostic oncology, staging, and follow-up procedures. This software solution can be easily integrated into standard workflows. It allows for the automated comparison of datasets that are collected over a series of computed tomography (CT) examinations to be viewed simultaneously. Using syngo CT Oncology, the size of a tumor can be automatically evaluated in 3D.

Using preset algorithms for the automated segmentation, measurement, and comparison of lesions in the CT images, syngo CT Oncology calculates tumor parameters (growth and burden) and then compares them with successive diagnostic results. This enables tracking the development of tumors in the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and metastasis in the bones of the brain. With features such as a simultaneous display of up to eight datasets and flexible and comprehensive reporting, this software solution offers an advantage to workflow in oncology imaging. Better visualization is implied with the 3D reconstruction. The automated volume measurements are also far more accurate and faster than manual 2D measurements. “The quality of the measurements is a lot better than anything a human reader could ever do, especially regarding volume,” remarks Graser.