Lawrence H. Schwartz, MD

In the more than two decades that I have practiced, I have cared for patients with many different types of cancer. Radiology and imaging studies are usually the gateways to decisions about the options that will best treat the patient’s disease. To that end, patients and their caregivers rely on the quality and timeliness of their imaging to shed light on the next steps of their cancer treatment journey. My mission — and the mission of our radiology department — is to provide expert consultation, diagnostic, interventional, and therapeutic imaging in as timely and as convenient a manner as possible. This is what all patients who require imaging can expect at MSK. Our goal is for patients to feel secure and supported by our expert radiologists, all of whom are dedicated to serving patient imaging needs accurately, quickly, and compassionately.

My path to radiology began during my third year of medical school. I became fascinated not only with the technology of the radiology equipment, but also with what these imaging devices could tell us diagnostically about a patient’s disease. Later, during my training as a cross sectional imaging fellow using imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT), I came to realize how critical imaging is to cancer care, from screening to diagnosis to treatment planning. The fascination that I felt as I gained my early exposure to the field of radiology — and, by extension, the power of medical imaging — has carried throughout my career as a radiologist.

Radiologic technology has evolved rapidly in recent years, resulting in non-invasive imaging and treatment approaches that have revolutionized cancer care. To my leadership role at MSK I bring a deep appreciation for radiology’s dynamism. Medical imaging is always advancing technologically. These new developments create opportunities for us to integrate cutting-edge technology into cancer care to improve decision-making and patient outcomes. I have dedicated my career to exploring novel applications for new imaging technology, with a focus on refining clinical care and supporting drug discovery. My research has supported the development and validation of imaging biomarkers in cancer care. It has also led to the adoption of new techniques to evaluate and correlate imaging characteristics with molecular features of disease processes, such as disease progression.

I have published more than 300 studies and presently serve as the Chair of the Imaging Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group and of the Alliance for Clinical Trials. I am a founding member of the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance and the Quantitative Imaging Network, and I also serve on other national-level boards dedicated cancer and its research.

My current work centers on the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology in radiology. There is no field in medicine that is currently using AI more than radiology, and although AI is in its infancy, it has the potential to transform clinical decision-making. I am presently working with medical oncologists to carry out retrospective and prospective evaluations of this technology. The insights from these studies will help us create and use AI-supported tools in radiology. AI is one of the most exciting advances in medicine today, and I believe that its impact on patient care will be felt in the near future.

Another area of rapid growth and critical importance to our patients is theranostics (a combination of the words “therapy” and “diagnostics”). Theranostics uses diagnostic testing (frequently, imaging) to determine the presence of a molecular target for which a targeted drug can be used. Often, this can be done non-invasively through molecular imaging. This type of imaging allows us to detect and quantify tumor burden (the total amount of cancer in the body). The imaging aspect of theranostic testing provides crucial diagnostic information that first helps us to understand each patient’s cancer, down to a cellular level, and then helps us to select the most precise therapy possible.

MSK is a world leader in theranostics, and the advances in this emerging area are owed, in part, to the multidisciplinary nature of cancer care at MSK. Having “grown up” at MSK during the early stages of my career, I can fully appreciate what a special institution this is, with incredible scientists and clinicians working together to advance the field of oncology and the individual care of each patient. I always say that when one thinks of radiology, one immediately thinks of our high-tech machines, but it is truly the people — and in the case of cancer care, the team of clinicians — that are so vital to both diagnostics and therapeutics. We still have a lot to do in the field of radiology, and there is no better place in the world to advance our science than with the teams at MSK.