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The Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center is located at our Williamson
St. Campus.
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LATEST ADVANCES IN PET/CT IMAGING AND TRILOGY TECHNOLOGY AT TRINITAS SAVE EDISON RESIDENT FROM PARALYZING SPINAL CORD TUMOR
State-of-the-art radiotherapy technology at Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center
(Trinitas CCC) used in conjunction with advanced PET/CT imaging spares a
resident of Edison from an aggressive and inevitably paralyzing tumor on
his spine.
In 2004, the 51-year-old chemist was diagnosed with a high-grade sarcoma, a
soft-tissue tumor, in his back muscles. At that time, he underwent surgery,
chemotherapy, and radiation therapies at another hospital. It was thought that
the sarcoma was eliminated and that all was well. Regretfully, after an
encouraging year, the sarcoma returned. The patient was re-admitted and
underwent additional surgery, this time requiring the removal of two ribs and
more treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.
Unfortunately, the tumor spread again. This time the patient sought treatment at
Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center (Trinitas CCC) because of their advanced
Trilogy® technology.
Using advanced PET/CT scanning, the medical team lead by radiation oncology
chair, Dr. Lisa Febles Henson, detected the tumor in the patient's ribs and
bones. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) combined with Computerized Tomography
(CT) allowed Dr. Henson to see anatomical structures while at the same time
measure microscopic metabolic activity of the tumor. Integrating these
technologies gave Dr. Henson the tools to develop a treatment plan that would
provide the greatest benefit to the patient.
"This was a difficult challenge," said Anup Jassal, Medical Physicist at
Trinitas CCC. "This was a recurring cancer that was already treated with
surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, so we had to consider the effects of all
the previous treatments on surrounding healthy tissues and structures. We worked
closely with his team of physicians from the other hospital and carefully
reviewed over 100 pages of medical records from his previous treatments."
The tumor was growing and if not treated quickly would soon spread to both sides
of the spinal cord. The consensus was that if the tumor were allowed to grow any
larger, it would surely leave the patient paralyzed.
Dr. Henson, Anup, and the rest of the Radiation Therapy team went swiftly to
work and developed a treatment plan using the Trilogy Linear Accelerator. The
team succeeded in achieving significant shrinkage of the patient's tumor to a
point where it could be safely removed with surgery.
"The Trilogy radiotherapy technology offers us the precision to produce and
implement complex treatment plans for the benefit of our patients," said Dr.
Henson. "It is one of the most advanced medical tools in the country and, for
this particular patient, we integrated it fully with PET, CT, and MRI data to
develop the best treatment plan possible. In the end we were successfully able
to diminish the size of the tumor to the point where it could be safely removed
with surgery. I'm very pleased that we were able to save our patient from
debilitating paralysis and preserve their quality of life."
Trinitas Hospital is the only facility in New Jersey with the Trilogy linear
accelerator. For more information, or to speak with Dr. Lisa Febles Henson,
please call 908-994-8000 or go to
www.TrinitasCCC.org.