Posts Tagged ‘lung cancer symptoms’
Local Control of Brain Mets
Recent studies estimate that 25 percent of all cancer patients – particularly patients with melanoma, lung cancer, or advanced breast cancer – will develop brain metastases and require whole brain therapy. While whole brain radiotherapy is a treatment option, it also subjects healthy brain tissue to radiation dosages that may have negative side affects or limit the amount of therapeutic dose that can be applied in the event of a re-occurrence. In addition, whole brain radiation requires an interruption in the chemotherapy treatments that are so important to maintaining tumor control.
Dr. Christopher M. Duma, Neurological Surgeon at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, California will discuss the use of Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ to treat multiple brain metastases in a single session. Gamma Knife® surgery always has been especially good at treating very small targets with little or no damage to healthy tissue; but Perfexion is able to treat several targets faster and more efficiently making it a viable option of patients with brain metastases. The result is a fast and effective treatment for brain metastases that is easier on the patient, reduces the damage to healthy tissue that may limit future treatment options, and allows for concomitant chemotherapy for optimum primary tumor control.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery of the Spine
While Gamma Knife® surgery was initially invented to treat inoperable cancers and disorders in the brain, now the kind of stereotactic treatment precision established by Elekta can be applied to extra-cranial tumors. Today, the latest advancements in image guidance and dynamic arc delivery pioneered by Elekta combined with Leksell-quality fixation options support Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SRT) anywhere in the body to deliver optimal dose to the tumor, while protecting vital organs like the spinal cord.
Dr. Peter C. Gerszten, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and co-editor of Spine Radiosurgery, will discuss the use of Elekta Axesse™ to perform stereotactic radiosurgery for spine and paraspinal lesions. According to Dr. Gerszten, “Axesse is fully optimized for SRS and SRT and therefore well suited for spine radiosurgery, providing patients a fast, safe, and effective treatment alternative or as an adjunct to open surgical intervention.”
More than sixty years ago, Professor Lars Leksell developed a three-coordinate head frame and revolutionized the field of stereotaxy. Twenty years later he conceived of replacing the surgical precision of the neurosurgeon with precisely targeted radiation, and invented the field of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Today, Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ is still the benchmark upon which all other SRS methods are measured; Perfexion equipped with Extend Program*™ is capable of treating cancers of the head and neck and lesions previously unsuitable for Gamma Knife surgery; And Elekta Axesse™ supports SRS and SRT anywhere in the body making it a versatile cross-over solution for neurosurgery and oncology .
According to President and CEO of Elekta North America, Joseph K. Jachinowski,
“Since its very foundation, Elekta has sought to develop technology that allowed practitioners to achieve specific clinical objectives. Today Elekta Neuroscience is still developing technology to address the most challenging cases in neurosurgery and oncology, creating new treatment possibilities that are redefining what we call, human care.”
*Extend requires 510(k) review and is not yet commercially available in the U.S.
Visit with Elekta tt the 2009 American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Meeting, May 4-6 at the San Diego Convention Center,
Non-Small Cell Cancer of the Lung
Adenocarcinoma is the most common non-small cell cancer of the lung that occurs in the United States. The majority of these cancers develop in the periphery (outer part) of the lung. Since these cancers are in the outer portion of the lung, the patient often does not have any symptoms when the cancer is found on a chest x-ray. Adenocarcinomas tend to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body) to the bone, the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), the adrenal glands, the liver and the opposite lung.
Frequently, there is scarring in adenocarcinomas. Sometimes, the cancer arises in an area of old scarring of the lung. In other cases, the scar appears to arise secondary to the growth of the cancer.
Bronchoalveolar carcinoma or alveolar cell carcinoma is a non-small cell carcinoma that can be found throughout the respiratory tract. When it is discovered as a single mass on a patient’s x-ray, this type of lung cancer has an excellent prognosis. Five year survival after surgery is in the 75-90% range. If, however, it is found in its diffuse form (meaning it has spread beyond a single mass), the prognosis is quite poor.
Squamous cell carcinomas comprise 30-40% of non-small cell carcinomas of the lung. This type of cancer tends to be located in the more central portion of the lung. Often, this is in a bronchus (a large airway of the lung). Since these cancers are located near or in these airways, they can cause symptoms earlier in their growth. Coughing and production of phlegm (sputum) that is bloody are common symptoms. The cancer can block airways which can lead to shortness of breath or pneumonia.
Large cell carcinomas represent about 10% of non-small cell cancers of the lung. This form of lung cancer has fewer structural characteristics when viewed under a microscope. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish this form of lung cancer from cancers which have spread to the lung from another place in the body.
Patient history and diagnosis
53-year-old woman presented in February 2005 with repeated chest infection. A CT scan showed a left lung mass and a soft tissue mass in relation to the left hilum. A biopsy showed consistency with non-small cell lung cancer.
The patient had no breathing difficulties and was commenced on down staging chemotherapy to which she had a partial response, with complete disappearance of left hilar mass and reduction of the apical tumor. Surgery was not possible as the tumor lay close to the pericardium and vital structures, primarily spinal cord. The patient was then referred for radiation therapy.
Non-Small Cell Lung Tumor
Read full IGRT Case Study here
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This guide contains information on frequently asked questions and information on the treatment process. While this information will not necessarily correspond to the exact process adopted by an individual hospital, we hope it will provide general background information and an indication of a typical treatment process.
- Largest Neurosurgical Center in Russia Acquires Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion February 6, 2012Russia’s first Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ system has found a home at the renowned N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute, just a five-minute car ride from Moscow’s Red Square. On June 2, 2011, a 59-year-old woman was the first Perfexion patient, receiving Gamma Knife® radiosurgery to treat tumor tissue that remained following open surgery. Now, eight mon […]
- Largest Neurosurgical Center in Russia Acquires Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion February 6, 2012N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute improves treatment of patients with multiple metastasesRead more... […]
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