Improved Evaluation and Follow-up of Routine Diagnostic Oncology Exams

September 18, 2008 Improved Evaluation and Follow-up of Routine Diagnostic Oncology Exams By Axel Küttner, MD, and Alexander Aplas, MD, Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diagnostic, staging and follow-up exams for tumors are among the most frequent CT exams performed in many radiology departments. For the University of Erlangen, oncology related imaging represents approximately 60% of the daily CT workload. To date, exams are read and evaluated in 2D, employing manual measurement and reporting of lesions. For follow-up exams, previously reported lesions must be manually located, and are often re-measured for size comparison with the current exam. This relatively time-consuming manual process is therefore prone to intra- and inter-reader variability, with the potential for sub-optimal outcomes. Recently a number of automated or semiautomated 2D/3D, and CAD software tools have become available to assist in the evaluation, reporting and follow-up of lung and colon lesions. These have proved extremely useful in improving diagnostic outcomes, delivering reliable performance in everyday clinical routine – increasing reader confidence and shortening evaluation time.1–3 However, these automated tools do not cover the evaluation of lymph nodes and liver nodules, for example, which together with the evaluation of lung lesions are the bread and butter imaging of clinical routine. syngo® CT Oncology* is a new software, which offers automated workflows for the 3D evaluation and follow-up of tumors in the liver and in the lung, incorporating lung CAD. There is also a dedicated algorithm for lymph nodes, plus a generic algorithm for other tumors throughout the body – such as malignant melanoma, as in the case presented here.

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