IEO: MOVING TOWARDS PRECISION MEDICINE WITH RADIOMICS, ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING RESEARCH AREAS
Precision medicine is a primary objective of contemporary medicine, aiming to tailor treatment to a patient’s specific features and illness. Radiomics is an expanding field that is emerging as a technology for personalized medicine, and it is currently one of the most intriguing areas of investigation.
The European Institute of Oncology was the first center in Italy to establish a Radiomics facility. Experts are diligently transforming the data acquired from radiological imaging tests into precise quantitative data, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic effectiveness and thereby streamlining the clinical decision-making process.
Precision medicine is a primary objective of contemporary medicine, aiming to tailor treatment to a patient’s specific features and illness. Radiomics is an expanding field that is emerging as a technology for personalized medicine, and it is currently one of the most intriguing areas of investigation.
To understand what Radiomics is, it is necessary to start by saying that some tumors are characterized by molecular alterations, such as genomic alterations. Given that it is possible to define these alterations, it is generally necessary to have a sample of the neoplastic tissue, which is obtained by biopsies or invasive surgical interventions. Currently, however, imaging diagnostics can enable tissues to be characterized in a non-invasive manner and, in some cases, can enable the profound phenotypic differences that human tissues present to be visualized. Since tumors are heterogeneous in their volume and change over time, diagnostic images can provide a full view of the entire tumor and can be repeated over time to monitor the changes induced by therapies.
Through Radiomics, the medical images we know, obtained by CT, MRI or PET scans, are converted into numerical data. They are calculated, in very large numbers, by special calculation tools and their handling and analysis often require the use of advanced techniques, such as artificial intelligence methods, in order to manage so-called “big data”.
This huge wealth of numerical data, which could not possibly be processed by means of simple visual observation, defines many characteristics of the tumor and the surrounding environment, related, for example, to its shape, volume and tissue structure.
Using these techniques, it is possible to study any correlation between the data obtained from the images and the molecular and genomic characteristics of the tumor, with the final aim of extracting indications – directly from the images – regarding the aggressiveness of the disease, regarding the most commonly indicated therapies and regarding its response to treatment.
It is hoped that, in the near future, the data collected from radiological imaging tests will be converted into quantitative data and that this data will be used as a decision-making support to clinical practice, in order to improve diagnostic accuracy and prognostic power.
The European Institute of Oncology was the first center in Italy to establish a Radiomics facility. Experts are diligently transforming the data acquired from radiological imaging tests into precise quantitative data, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic effectiveness and thereby streamlining the clinical decision-making process.
Representation of the Radiomics process: quantitative parameters calculated from clinical images are analyzed in combination with the patient’s biological, genetic and clinical characteristics. Thanks to the use of advanced techniques, it is possible to obtain useful information for diagnosis and for personalizing treatment.
References: News; Description sheet
The IEO (European Institute of Oncology) is one of the world’s most prestigious hospitals and the fastest growing comprehensive cancer center in Europe. IEO integrates the various areas related to the fight against cancer such as prevention, diagnosis, treatment, training and education, basic and translational research.
The doctors dedicate all of their time to treatment, research, continuing professional education and interdisciplinary exchanges with their colleagues within the same facility, all for the benefit of their patients.
Work organization is always centered around patients‘ needs and is based on service excellence.
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The IEO radiomics team includes medical doctors, physicists, engineers and statisticians. All members play an active role in radiomics projects.
Physicians are responsible for devising and structuring clinical research questions, while physicists and engineers facilitate image analysis and extraction of radiomic features. Lastly, statisticians are engaged in radiomic model development and validation.
Radiomics specialists work across multiple divisions, encompassing Radiotherapy, Radiology, Breast Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, as well as the units of Medical Physics, Radiation Research, and Molecular and Pharmacological Epidemiology.
The IEO’s radiomic team has dealt with various oncological pathologies, both independently and through national and international scientific collaborations. More specifically, the oncological pathologies involved are:
– Breast cancer
– Prostate cancer
– Lung cancer
– Lymphoma
– Head and neck tumours
– Colon cancer
A typical radiomic workflow includes various stages, including image acquisition, reconstruction, pre-processing, tumor region segmentation and radiomic feature extraction. Subsequently, statistical models are created and verified.
Studies on the repeatability and reproducibility of radiomic feature calculation have been conducted, taking into consideration variations in image acquisition and reconstruction parameters, as well as different radiomic feature calculation setups.
Studies were conducted on phantoms which were useful for radiomics and dosimetry applications. For example, pelvic MRI phantoms were tested for detecting gynaecological pathology, along with phantoms used in breast MRI and lung CT imaging. Other projects explored various techniques in image processing with the aim of enhancing the reliability of quantitative analysis, such as standardizing the intensity scale, correcting inhomogeneity, filtering the images and customizing image reconstruction. Additionally, the harmonization of radiomics data was also analyzed.
The IEO aims to become an international point of reference in the fight against cancer. For this reason, IEO International Office was set up in September 2013.
IEO welcomes patients from all over the world, from the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, South America, Saudi Arabia, and the Russian Federation. The IEO International Office is fully dedicated to providing a tailored welcome and a comfortable hospital stay, by meeting all individual needs. The IEO is committed to offer customized care for all patients and pay attention to their medical needs, language expectations, cultural and religious aspects.
The main services offered by IEO International Office are:
- Pre-arrival assistance (clinical pathway schedule, invitation letter for Visa issue, travel and accommodation organization, …)
- Cultural Mediation Service by phone available 24h and 7/7
- Liaison between the patient and hospital staff before, during and after the hospitalization
The IEO International Office, thanks to the collaboration with different partners, may also organize other services on demand, such as:
- Transfer from/to Milan airports
- Interpreter/Cultural Mediator in person
- Leisure time activities
- Religious and spiritual support
