Radiation Oncology

Images in 69-year-old man with biopsy-confirmed Gleason score 7 (3+4) prostate cancer. (a) Pretreatment axial T2-weighted fast spin-echo MRI scan (repetition time msec/echo time msec, 3820/97) shows tumor in midline anterior transition zone (arrow). (b) Intraoperative MRI scan shows contoured rectal wall (red line), prostate margin (blue outline), and region of interest (orange outline). Because the urethra was included in planned treatment volume, a suprapubic catheter was placed for continuous bladder drainage during treatment. (c) Intraoperative MRI scan shows focused ultrasound beam path (blue) overlaid on treatment plan. Rectangles illustrate each sonication spot. (d) Thermal map image obtained during treatment with heat deposition color coded in red overlaid on sonication spot. (e) Axial gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI scan (230/2.97) obtained immediately after treatment shows devascularized ablated volume (arrows). (f) Corresponding T2-weighted fast spin-echo MRI scan (3820/97) at 5 months after ablation shows complete involution of transition zone. All seven cores from treatment area margins were negative for cancer at biopsy. Image courtesy of the Radiological Society of North America

Bright spots indicate that cancer cells have responded to a one-day challenge with estrogen in this positron emission tomography (PET) scan of a woman with breast cancer. In a small study, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that only women whose tumors responded to estrogen challenge benefited from hormone therapy. The findings could help doctors choose the treatments most likely to help their patients. Image courtesy of Farrokh Dehdashti

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Jeff Elias, MD, is a neurosurgeon at UVA Health and a pioneer in the field of focused ultrasound. Image courtesy of UVA Health