Medical Physics Faculty members Chunhao Wang (Department of Radiation Oncology), Kyle Lafata (Department of Radiology, Department of Radiation Oncology), and Scott Floyd (Department of Radiation Oncology, Pharmacology & Cancer Biology) have received new funding from the Duke Cancer Institute. This Pilot Research Award will focus on new mathematical methods and computational approaches to interrogate brain cancer metastases on MR imaging. Brain metastases from cancer develop in more than 200,000 patients every year and result in mortality rates greater than any other malignancy. Despite aggressive therapy with stereotactic radiosurgery, many patients demonstrate radiological progression of their disease. Drs. Lafata, Wang, and Floyd (shown left to right in figure) aim to model disease progression, differentiate recurrent tumor from radiation necrosis, and identify prognostic imaging biomarkers. The multi-PI team includes expertise in deep learning and radiation treatment planning (Wang), imaging biomarkers and applied mathematics (Lafata), and radiation biology & clinical management of brain tumors (Floyd).
