Comparing the effectiveness of methods to measure oxygen in tissues for prognosis and treatment of cancer

Abstract

Given the clinical evidence that hypoxic tumors are more resistant to standard therapy and that adjusting therapies can improve the outcomes for the subpopulation with hypoxic tumors, in vivo methods to measure oxygen in tissue have important clinical potential. This paper provides the rationale for and methodological strategies to use comparative effectiveness research to evaluate oximetry for cancer care. Nine oximetry methods that have been used in vivo to measure oxygen in human tumors are evaluated on several clinically relevant criteria to illustrate the value of applying comparative effectiveness to oximetry.