CHICAGO – Oncology presentations and exhibits are always a major focus of the RSNA annual meeting. This year is no exception. Count on GE Healthcare to devote a piece of its city-block-sized booth to its new $1billion Healthymagination initiative to the fight against breast cancer.

GE announced the project earlier this month. It includes imaging, mobility and health information exchange.

One of the facets of the initiative is the development of a "super database" that can consolidate clinical, pathology, therapy and outcomes data in one place. Other breakthroughs on the horizon for GE include a new imaging technique that should be available stateside in the near future and a new mobile mammography concept that could help bring lifesaving screenings to underserved areas around the world.

GE Healthcare will exhibit in Hall A in the South Building at Booths 3265, 3465 and 3335.

Another health IT giant – Royal Philips Electronics – is also likely to feature oncology at its booth. Philips announced in October it was is teaming up with Integrated Oncology Network (ION), a development, practice management and advisory firm committed to patient care and quality in oncology.

"Philips is constantly pursuing new ways to meet evolving needs in oncology across the continuum of care – from early detection and diagnosis to treatment and surveillance, and from hospital to home," said Pat Venters, general manager, Oncology Care Cycle, for Philips Healthcare. "Part of that involves staying ahead of the curve in terms of the clinical solutions that we offer, but another critical part is helping to better manage the business and operational aspects of cancer treatment."

Philips Healthcare will exhibit in the Hall B in the North Building at Booths 7159 and 7721.

Siemens Healthcare will provide a vendor workshop in Lakeside Center Hall D, Booth 1642, Sunday, Nov. 27 from 1:15-2 p.m. on how to read oncology examinations with multiple time points, using Siemens CT Oncology Engine and synco.via. Siemens introduced synco.via at the 2009 RSNA annual meeting. syngo.via integrates imaging devices and IT, such as Siemens MRI, CT, and PET-CT scanners and its picture archiving and communications System, syngo.plaza.

As Siemens executives describe it, syngo.via enables physicians to access and utilize cutting-edge advanced visualization tools across the clinical spectrum, improving workflow efficiency and diagnostic confidence levels.

The oncology focus is not limited to the show floor. Many exhibits, sessions and presentations also spotlight oncology.

Here is a sampling from more than 3,000 possibilities.

Stephen M. Hahn, MD, will deliver the Annual Oration in Radiation Oncology and Special Lecture, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 1:30-2:45 p.m. in the Arie Crown Theater. Hahn’s topic is Proton Beam Therapy: Applications and Future. "There is significant interest in using Proton therapy to improve the therapeutic index of radiation treatments,” Hahn writes in his abstract. “The superior physical properties of proton therapy compared to photons are well known. These physical properties are sufficient to use protons in the treatment of some childhood malignancies in which our patients are particularly sensitive to the normal tissue effects of radiation,” he notes. “For many common solid tumors in adults, however, it is not clear that the superior dose distributions from protons result in measurable clinical benefit.”

Hahn is a radiation oncologist and a professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Cancer Pain Management: Overview of the Percutaneous Image-guided Techniques is an exhibit at the Lakeside Learning Center, available for view throughout the week: Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Friday, 7 a.m.-12:45 p.m. The exhibit is designed to show how percutaneous image-guided procedures can be used to control pain and improve quality of life in cancer patients resistant to conventional treatment. The use of image guidance especially flat panel CT, CT and MR increases the precision and decreases the complications associated with other procedures.

National Cancer Institute’s Center for Bioinformatics and Information Technology (caBIG) offers continuous demonstrations at the Lakeside Learning Center throughout the week. caBIG aims to facilitate and leverage imaging data to accelerate scientific discovery for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment and management of cancer and other diseases. The organization is committed to using open source software that facilitates collaboration as well as computational analysis of imaging data. The exhibit provides a high level overview of caBIG initiatives and also information on how to get involved in caBIG’s open community.