An Initiative by HCG and MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA

India – Emerging Leaders in Molecular Imaging

Bangalore, March 12,2014: The Onco – Radiology and Interventional Radiology Conference commenced today in Bangalore. The conference brought together radiologists across India and United States of America, to discuss and share knowledge on the advances in Onco & Interventional Radiology in diagnosing & staging, which is playing a vital role in the precise diagnosis of cancer. The conference began with topics focused on breast cancer diagnosis, role of nuclear medicine in cancer diagnosis, advancement in brain tumor diagnosing through molecules, molecular imaging, bio marker development and post treatment imaging of cancer.

Dr. K G Kallur, Director, Imaging Services, HCG, said, “With advancements in molecular imaging and nuclear medicine, there has been a revolutionary change in diagnosing cancer by non- invasive techniques. This has led to personalized treatment planning & patient care. India is emerging as one of the leaders in molecular imaging. This conference will immensely benefit the young radiologists and oncologists, in the diagnosis of cancer and delivering better medical outcomes.”

Dr. Chaitanya Divgi, Chief of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging and professor & Research Vice-Chairman, Radiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, said “The development of molecular imaging allows novel methods for evaluating disease and selecting the most beneficial therapies, particularly in cancer and also in other diseases. The emergence of India as a leader in health care delivery and development will occur even more rapidly with conferences and continuing medical education programmes like this.”

Benefits of Molecular Imaging:

• Staging of the disease
• Determine the extent or severity of the disease, including whether it has spread elsewhere in the body
• Determining patient’s response to specific drugs
• Accurate assessment & response to the treatment
• Prognosis of the disease well in advance
• Helps in identification of the recurrence of the disease
• Gathering information that is inaccessible with other imaging technologies or that would require more invasive procedures such as biopsy or surgery BWI