The course begins with a brief unit on the basic biological characteristics of cancer and then proceeds to study how each of the major <i>in vivo</i> imaging modalities is used to interrogate the tumor micro- and macroenvironment. The imaging techniques covered include: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging, computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound imaging.
A theme throughout the course is how imaging can go beyond mere anatomic/morphologic characterization to provide quantitative assessment of tumor growth and treatment response. As opposed to courses that offer an overview of particular imaging technologies, this course is specifically focused at understanding the application of the common imaging modalities to the problem of quantitatively characterizing of tumors. Extensive examples from both the pre-clinical and clinical settings will be presented.