Researchers at the UCSD School of Medicine have discovered
that magnetic resonance imaging technology could enable doctors to
non-invasively characterize brain tumors and determine how responsive they are
to specific forms of treatments based on their specific molecular properties.
Doctors traditionally diagnose and prescribe treatment for
brain tumors by studying tumor tissue and cell samples, which are collected by
using invasive biopsy or surgery, under a microscope.
“This approach reveals that, using existing imaging
techniques, we can identify the molecular properties of tumors,” assistant
professor of interventional radiology Michael Kuo said in a statement. “For the
first time, we have shown that the activity of specific molecular programs in
these tumors can be determined based on MRI scans alone.”
