Imaging in pleural Mesothelioma: A review of the 16th International Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group

Samuel G. Armato III, Sharyn I. Katz, Thomas Frauenfelder, Geeshath Jayasekera, Annamaria Catino, Kevin G. Blyth, Taylla Theodoro, Pascal Rousset, Kristiaan Nackaerts, Isabelle Opitz 

Abstract

Imaging continues to gain a greater role in the assessment and clinical management of patients with mesothelioma. This communication summarizes the oral presentations from the imaging session at the 2023 International Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig), which was held in Lille, France from June 26 to 28, 2023. Topics at this session included an overview of best practices for clinical imaging of mesothelioma as reported by an iMig consensus panel, emerging imaging techniques for surgical planning, radiologic assessment of malignant pleural effusion, a radiomics-based transfer learning model to predict patient response to treatment, automated assessment of early contrast enhancement, and tumor thickness for response assessment in peritoneal mesothelioma.

Highlights

• Harmonizing imaging practices will allow for well-informed decisions in oncology.
• Imaging technology impacts surgical approaches and will shape future treatments.
• 4D MRI can assess diaphragm function in the presence of malignant pleural effusion.
• AI may predict outcome and aid treatment selection to improve precision oncology.
• Perfusion MRI will benefit from automated reporting for early contrast enhancement.
• Dedicated evaluation criteria for peritoneal metastases will aid drug development.