ASCO University Unveils New Imaging Course

Dec 19, 2017

Understanding basic medical imaging modalities is essential to any oncologist, from new physicians to those reviewing this fundamental aspect of oncology.

ASCO University, wanting to assist medical professionals with this task, has launched a new course on medical imaging. The course was designed by imaging experts—with specialties including interventional radiology, diagnostic radiology, and nuclear medicine—to create a foundational curriculum, especially for those new to practice.

“Emerging companion diagnostic imaging and therapeutic agents have the potential to become hallmarks of precision medicine, optimizing selection of patients for individual therapies and how these drugs are delivered,” said course faculty member Heather Jacene, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Course faculty member Richard Marshall, MD, of LSU Health, noted, “Interventional radiology [IR] is an integral component of precision medicine that uses imaging technology to extend cancer care to patients in a minimally invasive way. IR procedures help patients who are eligible for surgical treatment, those who may not be eligible for surgery, and offers palliation of cancer related symptoms.”

The slide-based course with an audio overlay is divided into four sections along with a post-test. Designed for advanced practitioners, this course benefits anyone wanting to learn more about interpreting medical imaging, including when to order and when not to order.

Upon completing the course, users will have a better understanding of how to use imaging to guide therapy, including the best ways to optimize drug therapies, demonstrate targets prior to therapy, and evaluate the response to certain therapies. 

The four sections of the course are as follows:

  • Diagnostic Imaging will help learners identify common imaging modalities used in oncology, explain how radiologists use Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) reporting, discuss the basic concepts of liver imaging, and describe the basic concepts of rectal cancer staging.
  • Interventional Radiology will help learners describe how an interventional radiologist can see inside patients without opening them up, discuss some of the treatments interventional radiology can offer to diagnose and treat cancers of the liver, lung, and kidney, and explain the two ways drug eluting beads (used in DEB TACE) treat hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • Radiologic Response will help learners identify issues and challenges with response assessment, explain different methods of response assessment, discuss the interpretation of each method in clinical context, and describe future research considerations.
  • New and Emerging Imaging Modalities will help learners define theranostics, discuss prognostic versus predictive biomarkers, discuss applications of molecular imaging for theranostics and as imaging biomarkers, and explain other applications where imaging can be used to guide therapy.

The Imaging course is offered as part of the Advanced Practitioner Certificate Program: Basics 102 through ASCO University. Certificate and credit types available for the course include 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ABIM MOC Points, CNE Contact Hours, CPE Credits, ONCC ILNA Points, a Certificate of Participation, and a Certificate of Completion. All final decisions regarding the awarding of credits will be made by the licensing organization to which the credits are submitted.

The course is also available for purchase as part of the ASCO University Essentials package, which provides unlimited access to more than 100 courses in the ASCO University course catalog. An annual subscription also includes a Personalized Learning Dashboard, an enhanced self-assessment tool that supports a more individualized approach to oncology education, utilizing the enhanced self-assessment to offer tailored content recommendations based on identified knowledge gaps.

Find more information on the ASCO University imaging course. 


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