Dr. Pollack on the Potential Impact of Radiomics on the Sarcoma Treatment Landscape

Seth M. Pollack, MD, assistant professor, Division of Oncology, University of Washington, and attending physician, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the potential impact that radiomics could have on the treatment landscape of sarcoma.

Radiomics is still somewhat of a brand new field, says Pollack, and researchers are only just beginning to scratch the surface. Although radiomics does not currently have an established role in the management of patients, its potential application this space is still exciting.

Radiomics works by quantifying complex aspects of tumor images related to tumor biology. Pollack explains that it is essentially a way to look at images that takes the viewer out of it, allowing the computer to look for elements to the radiologic files that a person wouldn’t be able to see.

In terms of the potential clinical impact of this tool, he says this could represent a promising method for predicting patient outcomes. Once radiomics is validated in a reliable way, then the exciting work will ensue, in which researchers can use these predictive features to choose which treatment a patient is best suited for.