Tumor Perfusion: Before and After Treatment

Using contrast agents and special sequences with high temporal resolution, Dr. Michael Reisegger is evaluating how tumors behave before and after therapy. “We want to know whether there is a change in perfusion before there is a change in the size of the tumor, and we want to know very quickly, within two weeks, whether a patient will respond to treatment. With that, we also want to know what the differences are between responders and non-responders,” he explained. Dr. Reisegger collaborates with Dr. Ba-Ssalamah to apply this method to liver tumors, specifically hepatocellular carcinomas, and with Dr. Thomas Helbich to look at breast cancers. “There, we are using US with contrast to see whether there is a change in tumor perfusion,” he said. Patients are followed very closely, and response can be determined very rapidly.