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Monday, August 27, 2007
Robarts Research Institute
Medical imaging holds key to cancer detection

LONDON, ON (Aug. 27, 2007) – The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today named Robarts imaging scientist Dr. Aaron Fenster Director of its Imaging Platform.

A leader in the field of medical imaging, Dr. Fenster founded the Imaging Research Laboratories at Robarts nearly twenty years ago and has since been developing technologies to aid clinicians in the early detection of disease and the effective delivery of treatment.

In his role as Director of the Imaging Platform, Dr. Fenster will unite expert researchers and clinicians from all across the province in translating laboratory technologies into clinical applications that ultimately benefit cancer patients.

Some of Dr. Fenster’s current research projects involve the development of image-guidance devices to improve the detection and treatment of prostate cancer using ultrasound. Prostate cancer affects 30% of men over the age of 50 but is curable if detected early.

Elevated levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) often indicate the presence of cancer; however, current biopsy methods do not always produce evidence of cancer on the first, second or even third biopsy – often returning “false negatives” until cancerous areas grow large enough to be touched by the biopsy needle.

One of Dr. Fenster’s technologies currently in development enables clinicians to target specific regions of the prostate quickly and accurately during the procedure and record the exact locations at which biopsies are taken. The resulting information helps physicians diagnose clinically relevant cancers at a curable stage.

“We know that if we could detect cancer earlier, the treatments we administer could be more effective,” said Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the OICR. “Dr. Fenster and his colleagues have a high potential for making an impact in this important area of research.”

For more information contact:
Anthea Rowe, 519-663-3524, arowe@robarts.ca.
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