Aaron Fenster can’t see cancer cells with just his eyes. He relies on non-invasive tools that look inside the body for signs of the disease. But by working with colleagues at research institutes across Ontario, the newly appointed leader of OICR’s Imaging Pipeline Platform plans to help doctors see cancer in more detail than ever before.

The Imaging Pipeline Platform will bring together Ontario’s imaging researchers in a unified effort to translate laboratory discoveries into new imaging equipment and techniques that doctors can use to detect and treat cancer. “To treat cancer more effectively, we need to detect it earlier, when tumours are millimetres in size instead of centimetres in size. I believe this is something Dr. Fenster and his colleagues can achieve here in Ontario, where we are fortunate to have some of the finest imaging scientists in the world,” says Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of OICR.

In January, OICR released its Strategic Plan and set imaging among its top priorities. It calls for an imaging platform to facilitate research and move laboratory discoveries into clinical applications. In May, Ontario’s senior imaging scientists convened in Toronto to discuss what would be needed to take discoveries from the bench to the bedside. Fenster explains that he and his colleagues identified four gaps in this process.

“First, we need to test our probes in animal models. Second, once a probe is successful in an animal model, we need to translate it for use in humans. Third, we need a three dimensional histology to validate our imaging techniques and finally, we need to get imaging into more clinical trials.”

There are researchers who specialize in these areas in Ontario. “We have a group at McMaster, for example, that is one of very few in the province where they can translate a probe from the animal to the human stage,” explains Fenster. “With 3D imaging, we will need to work with computer programmers because a 3D image is composed of many high-resolution images, which generate tremendous data storage needs.”

To test their discoveries, imaging researchers will be able to combine their research with another initiative established under the Strategic Plan. OICR will work with industry and academic researchers to facilitate high content clinical trials, which combine a number of research studies in a single clinical trial, increasing the potential benefit to patients.

Imaging is a diverse field. Physicists, chemists, biologists, computer scientists and clinical trials professionals are all needed to develop new imaging techniques and equipment. Dr. Fenster’s team will continue to work at their labs at centres across Ontario, where they will benefit from a wide, multidisciplinary pool of talent.

Hudson says Fenster’s record of scientific success made him a natural choice to lead the Imaging Pipeline Platform. “Dr. Fenster’s contribution to science over the past 30 years is impressive and substantial. It was a pleasure for me to offer him the opportunity to lead this collaboration of imaging scientists from the widest possible range of fields. Dr. Fenster’s career is testament to the value of using a team-based approach to tackle challenges in medical imaging.”

Fenster graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.Sc. in Physics in Chemistry and an M.Sc. and PhD in Medical Biophysics. He has been director of the Imaging Research Laboratories at the Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario, since 1987. He is also a professor in the departments of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine, medical biophysics and oncology, an adjunct professor in the departments of electrical engineering and physics and associate director of the graduate program in biomedical engineering at the University of Western Ontario.

“When a blood test reveals elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), we take a biopsy of the prostate in order to determine if the patient has cancer. Traditionally, when a biopsy came back negative the patient would have to keep going back for follow-up biopsies until cancer progressed to the point where it could be detected,” Dr. Fenster explains. “I have known men who have gone through this and it is devastating to know that you may have cancer but have to wait up to two years before doctors can detect it.”

Fenster’s procedure improves on regular biopsy because it allows doctors to guide the needle to specific locations in the prostate. If they find no cancer, on the next biopsy they will know to look in a different location. If they find evidence of a pre-cancerous state, they can go back to that area to see if it has progressed into cancer. “A tumour is usually detected at five millimetres or more and our needle is accurate within two millimetres. This means we can see cancer in its earliest stages, when treatment is most likely to be effective.”

Now, Fenster and his team at the Robarts Institute are focused on applying their success in prostate cancer biopsy to developing breast biopsy and to image-guided intra-operative procedures. Intra-operative imaging refers to images used during surgery to help surgeons plan and guide their work in real-time. In April 2007, Fenster’s discoveries and continued commitment to innovation were recognized with a Premier’s Discovery Award for Innovation Leadership.