Midway evaluation - Kari Strøno Wagner-Larsen
Midway evaluation for the PhD degree at the University of Bergen for candidate Kari Strøno Wagner-Larsen
Main content
Kari Strøno Wagner-Larsen is affiliated with the Department of Clinical Medicine. Supervisors are Ingfrid Haldorsen, Camilla Krakstad and Noeska Smit.
Project
Advanced MRI for developing more personalized treatment strategies in uterine cervical cancer
Abstract
Uterine cervical cancer represents a major threat to female health worldwide; it is the fourth most common female cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in low-income countries. Important limitations in cervical cancer treatment are due to insufficient diagnostic tools with which to identify high-risk disease and insufficient diagnostic tools with which to monitor treatment response and guide individualized treatment strategies.
This PhD-project explores the value of advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MRI-based radiomic tumor profiling to provide functional- and morphological tumor characteristics relevant for treatment in uterine cervical cancer. A unique patient series of >500 cervical cancer patients, diagnosed and treated at Haukeland University Hospital, who have been subjected to MRI before and during treatment is studied. Routinely reported imaging findings and whole-volume radiomic tumor signatures are explored in relation to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, therapeutic response, clinical outcome and histologic- and molecular tumor markers.
The aim of this project is to improve patient care in uterine cervical cancer by identifying more accurate imaging markers with which to safely guide therapy: Low-risk patients may receive less invasive treatment with only minimal side effects, whereas the more invasive treatment regimens may be reserved for high-risk patients and more precisely monitored by MRI.