RTICC International Guest Seminar- Assoc. Prof. Rebecca Rakow-Penner

Assoc. Prof. Rebecca Rakow-Penner
University of California San Diego, USA

"Latest in Women's Health Imaging"

Women present with a distinct spectrum of conditions, from chronic pelvic pain and benign gynecologic disease to breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers. These processes require imaging tools optimized for women’s unique anatomy and pathophysiology. Despite this need, advanced imaging technology has historically underserved women's health, leaving significant diagnostic gaps. This talk presents state-of-the-art imaging techniques addressing those gaps across both benign and malignant disease.

The talk will begin with benign pelvic conditions. Chronic pelvic pain affects a significant number of women and carries an annual healthcare burden exceeding $39 billion. We present how advanced MRI protocols improve detection and characterization of endometriosis, pelvic venous disorders, and pelvic floor dysfunction, alongside emerging applications in pelvic nerve imaging and placental imaging.

The second portion of the lecture focuses on gynecologic and breast oncology, with emphasis on an advanced diffusion MRI framework that decomposes the signal into biologically distinct compartments, enabling superior tissue characterization over conventional ADC mapping. Clinical applications include breast cancer detection with reduced unnecessary biopsies, quantitative probability mapping for cervical cancer staging and treatment response assessment, and ovarian lesion classification distinguishing benign, borderline, and malignant pathology. Collectively, these tools establish a foundation for imaging biomarkers capable of predicting tumor grade, guiding treatment, and expanding the role of MRI in cancer screening and surveillance in women’s health. The overarching goal is a precision imaging framework, quantitative, non-invasive, and biologically grounded, that meaningfully improves outcomes for women across the full spectrum of pelvic and breast disease.

The RTICC aspires to become a leading center, attracting top-tier researchers renowned both nationally and internationally for their contributions to cancer research in various fields.
A key objective is to foster collaborations and engage with leading scientists, all with the aim of advancing cancer treatment and improving patient outcomes. Therefore, we host the RTICC International Guest Seminar, which is delivered by acclaimed expert academic speakers.