Cancer Moonshot needs universal imaging standards

Standards surrounding quantitative biomarker imaging are a crucial to the success of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, legislation championed by Joe Biden in the twilight of his Vice Presidency. Efforts already underway include the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA), but additional cooperation is needed, according to Daniel Sullivan of Duke University Medical Center in an article published on Medium’s Cancer Moonshot page.

“If images are not uniformly acquired, doctors and researchers may not be able to compare the results of one study with another in the same patient, between groups of patients in a clinical trial, or between studies or institutions,” he wrote.

Sullivan points to standards already established for two imaging procedures as a positive example. The QIBA has published best practices for obtaining and disseminating FDG PET/CT measurements and CT tumor volume measurements.

“Use of these QIBA profiles for standardized quantitative imaging will contribute significantly to improvements in the quality of cancer care and to the development of more effective therapeutics in oncology,” Sullivan wrote.