Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Quantitative Dwi As An Early Imaging Biomarker Of The Response To Chemoradiation In Esophageal Cancer, Benjamin C. Musall

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

For patients diagnosed with stages IIa-IIb esophageal cancer, the current standard of care treatment is tri-modality therapy (TMT), where neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT) is followed by surgical resection. Histopathology of resected tumors reveals that pathological complete response (pCR) is achieved in 20-30% of patients through nCRT alone. Because of the high mortality and morbidity associated with esophagectomy, it may be advantageous for patients exhibiting pCR from nCRT alone to be placed under observation rather than completing their TMT. Therefore, a method for predicting response at an early time-point during nCRT is highly desirable. Conventional methods such as endoscopic ultrasound, re-biopsy, and …