CTCA Updates
HOSPITAL UPDATES - September 2009
Eastern Regional Medical Center
New Technology – Intraoperative Radiation Therapy
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Eastern Regional Medical Center will become the first in the country to offer Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) with the Novac7 mobile linear accelerator. CTCA has committed to purchasing Novac7, the latest technology from Italy-based InTech, LLC.
IORT is a therapeutic, multidisciplinary technique that involves the application of a single dose of radiation to a tumor bed during the time of surgery, while sparing the normal surrounding tissue. After the surgeon has completed the surgical procedure or resection, the radiation team will enter the operating room and deliver a single dose of radiation using the mobile linear accelerator. The dose is applied by shielding healthy tissue or structures that are particularly sensitive and could be damaged by using other techniques, thereby allowing higher radiation doses to be delivered to the accessible tumor bed.
For CTCA patients there are significant benefits including:
• Faster irradiation time compared to a standard treatment plan of radiation
• Shorter treatment time (a single dose is equivalent to 1.5-2.5 times the same fractioned dose, which is typically given over 5-6 weeks)
• Minimum discomfort
• Minimal side effects
• Better cosmetic results
The Director of Radiation Oncology at CTCA at Eastern Regional Medical Center, Dr. Pablo Lavagnini, will lead the cutting-edge program. Patients battling several cancer types, particularly breast and prostate, will benefit from this advanced technology.
More information about IORT will be available soon at www.cancercenter.com.
Midwestern Regional Medical Center
New Guest Quarters
In response to patient feedback, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Midwestern Regional Medical Center has expanded its Guest Quarters. Extended lodging and accommodations will be available at the new, four-story, 90-room Guest Quarters. Expected to open in October 2009, the 70,000 square feet facility features designs, amenities and room layouts created based upon patient and caregiver feedback. The new facility will assist CTCA in providing continuous care to oncology patients and their caregivers.
New Treatments
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Midwestern Regional Medical Center (Midwestern) seeks to offer new advanced technology and powerful and innovative therapies. In February 2009, Midwestern offered Cytoreductive surgery with Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), performed by Dr. Charles Komen Brown. HIPEC is performed in less than 60 hospitals in the United States. The technology includes a broad-based abdominal and pelvic surgery to remove all visible tumor cells and a peritoneal infusion with heated chemotherapeutic agent. HIPEC provides hope to abdominal cancer patients who may have previously had only a few treatment options.
Also new at CTCA at Midwestern is SpyglassTM Direct Visualization System. The miniature, 6,000-pixel fiber optic probe provides a clear view inside a patient’s liver, bile ducts and gallbladder. This visualization system allows a physician to better differentiate between benign and malignant structures, and biopsy any lesion in the bile duct.
Research and Innovation
Patient-centered research and innovation at CTCA provides expanded medical treatment options and hope for those who need it most. The newest clinical research study, “PRECEDENT,” is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EC145, a drug currently being studied in the treatment for women with ovarian cancer who develop a resistance to standard platinum-based chemotherapy. In addition, we are studying and evaluating the safety and effectiveness of an ovarian cancer vaccine called O-Vax. The vaccine uses cells taken from an individual patient’s tumor to stimulate immune cells and has expanded eligibility criteria to include advanced stage ovarian cancer patients experiencing an ovarian cancer recurrence.
Southwestern Regional Medical Center
Cancer Treatment Centers of America makes history with the newest in cancer imaging technology
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) became the third hospital in the world and the first in the United States to offer the DiscoveryTM PET/CT 600 scanner. This new PET/CT technology, which was manufactured by GE Healthcare and installed at CTCA at Southwestern Regional Medical Center (SRMC) in April 2009, allows physicians to diagnose and stage tumors with improved accuracy in order to develop more precise treatment plans for patients.
The Discovery PET/CT 600 has the ability to pinpoint small lesions – as small as 2.8 mm in size. This new technology can identify metastatic disease that might otherwise get ignored utilizing a traditional PET scanner. The result is a clearer visual of the affected area. Patient wait time for treatment is significantly decreased as the technology can identify disease earlier.
The Discovery PET/CT 600 scanner merges two imaging technologies, positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT), into one machine for a single imaging session. A PET scan reveals the function of cells and tissues in the body. A CT scan provides detailed information about the anatomy or structure of organs and tissues in the body. By blending these two images into one singular image, CTCA physicians can identify abnormal activity and know precisely where activity is taking place to make appropriate treatment decisions.
Motion from respiration, the beating heart, and patient movement impact image quality and quantitative accuracy. The new scanner offers motion-management technology which allows doctors to obtain clear pictures of parts of the body that move, such as the liver and lungs. That information is transferred to the radiation oncologist who uses it for treatment planning. The result for the patient is more targeted radiation delivered to the cancer and less radiation delivered to surrounding normal tissue.
The new DiscoveryTM PET/CT 600 will benefit patients allowing more precise treatment options earlier than using a traditional scanner. “This scanner speaks volumes about what CTCA is able to do to win the fight against cancer,” remarked Dr. Timothy McCay, DO, radiologist at CTCA at SRMC.
Benefits for cancer patients
The new DiscoveryTM PET/CT 600 scanner at Cancer Treatment Centers of America offers the following benefits to cancer patients:
• Allows physicians to accurately identify tumor boundaries with the highest sensitivity in the industry,
• Detects lesions down to 2.8 mm, enabling physicians to find cancer and metastases earlier instead of having the patient wait several months for a follow-up appointment.
• Captures critical details, through the motion management technology, in areas subject to motion including the liver and lungs, assisting doctors in accurately localizing lesions and improving treatment accuracy.
• Captures images with detail and precision, allowing for more targeted treatment and more concentrated radiation.
• Allows physicians to review images while the scan is being completed, decreasing the patient’s time on the scanner table.
• Decreases the amount of radiopharmaceutical that is given to the patient prior to the scan.
• Provides quantitative analysis across exams allowing medical oncologists to change a patient’s course of treatment quickly, if needed.
Western Regional Medical Center
Patients Benefit from an All-Digital Platform
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Western Regional Medical Center (WRMC) opened in December of 2008 as the nation's first all-digital cancer hospital, located in Goodyear, Arizona. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is one part of the comprehensive IT platform at WRMC designed to maximize patient care. By being an all-digital hospital, patients benefit through real-time access to patient data, better communication across departments, faster development of treatment plans, fewer transcription errors, and reduced turnaround times for lab orders. The efficiencies created help to reduce patient paperwork, wait time, length of stay, and the need for repeat exams. The result is less stress, allowing the patient to focus on healing.
Our focus on maximizing patient efficiencies was recently recognized by Health Imaging & IT magazine’s July/August 2009 issue where Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) was named one of The Top 25 Connected Healthcare Facilities. The top performers include healthcare facilities that are intelligent and knowledge-enabled enterprises. Effective IT-enabled connections create operating efficiencies resulting in improved communication for better patient care.