The forum drew 200 representatives from government, industry, academia, funding agencies, and healthcare providers interested in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and the identification and resolution of issues that may seem to inhibit that treatment. The National Cancer Institute has designated imaging as one of a limited number of new investment opportunities because it is transforming the practice of oncology. We need to help move imaging from a location perspective to a biological perspective.
Biology is a set of processes that takes place in real time.
That, he said, justifies the funneling of available resources into programs that maximize the value of imaging technology. Robert Wittes, deputy director for NCI extramural sciences and director of the Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis Division, agreed with Klauser, noting that imaging is changing the way physicians look at cancer. We have every reason to think that biology will allow a highly tailored approach, and we can t get there without imaging. Imaging quickly provides a physician with rich information and a graphical user interface for the sampling of tissue. For example, said Wittes, industry needs to make intelligent research allocation decisions to center development around key biomedical questions.