.
Summer 1999, Volume 2, No. 2
[More Bodine Bulletins]
| From the Chairman  Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD
Chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology
Kimmel Cancer Center
Thomas Jefferson University
Phone: (215) 955-6700, Fax: (215) 955-0412
E-mail: walter.curran@mail.tju.edu
I am delighted to
welcome to our department the faculty and staff of the radiation
oncology center at Frankford Hospital. Effective July 1, 1999, Frankford
Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University entered into a long-term
relationship to build upon the highly successful radiation oncology
program on the Frankford Hospital campus. I am particularly pleased to
welcome Margaret Barnes, MD and Michael Peterson, MD to the Jefferson
faculty. Marge was the founding director of the Frankford facility and
will continue to serve as the clinical director there, and Mike has been
a staff member at Frankford Hospital since 1996. In addition, Eric
Gressen, MD joined Drs. Barnes and Peterson at Frankford on July 1st. A
profile of these three physicians as well as Liang Song, the chief
physicist at Frankford is featured in this issue. On behalf of
Jefferson, I want to thank the leadership at Frankford Hospital and the
University of Pennsylvania for facilitating a smooth transition at this
facility.
We are pleased to note
that a promising new radiation
planning and delivery system was placed into clinical use at the Bodine
Center in early 1999. The Peacock system, as it is known, is a treatment
planning and delivery system developed by NOMOS Corporation in
Sewickley, PA, which modifies the radiation treatment planning algorithm
sufficiently that an improvement in the radiation dose distribution
between target and non-target tissues can be realized. Our facility is
the first in the region to clinically implement this approach, and to
date, over 10 patients have been treated at the Bodine Center with the
Peacock system. In addition, a department team led by Drs. Richard
Valicenti, Xing Xao, and Jim Galvin have developed a means by which the
principles of the Peacock system can be executed on a linear accelerator
with a multileaf collimator. This highly innovative approach has already
been clinically implemented at the Bodine Center among selected patients
with prostate cancer.
As important as our
technology is the character of our department’s patient care and our
methods of communication. We recently learned that our department ranked
at the very top in a recent survey of Jefferson physicians which asked
how well clinical departments at Jefferson managed patients and
communicated with referring physicians. Such recognition is only
possible through the efforts of all individuals in an organization, and
it is a pleasure to work with a group of dedicated and competent
colleagues!
. |
 |
 |
| ... |
Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD
Chairman
Department of Radiation Oncology
Bodine Center for Cancer Treatment
Kimmel Cancer Center
Thomas Jefferson University
Phone: (215) 955-6700
Fax: (215) 955-0412
E-mail: walter.curran@mail.tju.edu |
|
Shari Rudoler, MD
Editor, Bodine Bulletin
Jefferson/Lower Bucks
Radiation Oncology Center
Phone: (215) 785-9910, Fax (215) 785-9911
E-mail: shari.rudoler@mail.tju.edu |
|
Joy Soleiman, MPA
Assistant Administrator
Department of Radiation Oncology
Bodine Center for Cancer Treatment
Thomas Jefferson University
Phone: (215) 955-5948
Fax: (215) 923-5269
E-mail: joy.soleiman@mail.tju.edu |
| ... |
| Introducing
New Faculty
Thomas Jefferson
University’s Department of Radiation Oncology is proud to welcome our
new faculty at Frankford Hospital.
 Margaret
M. Barnes, MD, the Director of the Radiation Oncology Department at
Frankford Hospital, originally planned and developed the clinical and
operational radiation oncology program at that facility.
Dr. Barnes received her MD at Temple University School of
Medicine, served her internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and
did her residency training in Radiation Oncology at the National Cancer
Institute in Bethesda, MD She
is board certified in Radiation Oncology. Prior to joining the faculty at Jefferson, Dr. Barnes was on
the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Dr. Barnes has extensive clinical experience, with expertise in
the management of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lymphoma, and
brachytherapy. Dr. Barnes
is a Clinical Associate Professor at Jefferson Medical College and has a
very broad experience as an oncology educator.
She is a regular spokesperson for the American Cancer Society,
Philadelphia Division, and other regional cancer associations. Dr. Barnes’ research interests are radiation damage of
normal tissue and health care to under-served populations. Dr. Barnes has published in the International Journal of
Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics, the Annals of Thoracic
Surgery, Radiology, Digestion, and the Journal of Lasers in Surgery and
Medicine.
 Michael
E. Peterson, MD has been a member of the Radiation Oncology Department
at Frankford Hospital since 1996. He received his MD at Cornell University Medical College.
Dr. Peterson was an Internal Medicine resident at Northwestern
Memorial Hospital in Chicago and a Radiation Oncology resident at the
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Peterson is board certified in both Internal Medicine and
Radiation Oncology. His
clinical interests are breast cancer, head and neck malignancies, and
prostate and genitourinary malignancies.
Dr. Peterson has published in the International Journal of
Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Cancer Journal of Scientific
American, the Breast Journal, and the Journal of Clinical Outcomes
Management.
 Eric
Gressen, MD, is the newest member of the staff of the Radiation Oncology
Department at Frankford Hospital, having joined the staff in July 1999.
Dr. Gressen completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and is board certified in Radiation
Oncology. Dr. Gressen
received his MD from Hahnemann University School of Medicine and was an
intern at the Medical Center of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.
Dr. Gressen is interested in the management of lung cancer,
sarcomas, prostate cancer, and brain tumors.
He has published in Biochemical Pharmacology and the FASEB
Journal.
 Liang
Song, MS, has been the Medical Physicist at Frankford Hospital since
1996. He is a graduate of
Fudan University in Shangai, and received his Masters degree in
Radiologic Physics from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.
Mr. Song is certified by the American Board of Medical Physics in
Radiation Oncology Physics and also certified in Therapeutic Radiologic
Physics by the American Board of Radiology.
Mr. Song has been responsible for the development of the
brachytherapy service at Frankford Hospital.
|
|
Patient
Support Services
Because of the
complexity and chronic-nature of cancer, patients and their families can
be expected to require varying supports as they move through their
individual illness experience. Studies have repeatedly shown that good social support is
linked to lower anxiety and depression in cancer patients and some
studies have shown a positive correlation between social support and
better disease outcomes. Most
patients receive the majority of their support from family and friends.
However, even those people with the very best existing support
networks frequently express a sense of isolation when faced with a
cancer diagnosis. The
ability to network with others in a similar situation and share
experiences and methods of coping can be invaluable in reducing this
feeling of isolation.
A comprehensive
network of support and education programs is being developed in the
Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) to afford patients and their families the
opportunity to connect with others who share their experience.
One such effort has been the coordination of the Patient Advocacy
and Survivorship Committee. This
committee, comprised of cancer survivors treated at the Kimmel Cancer
Center, serves to advise the cancer center on a variety of
patient-related issues and activities. Members of the committee now have
representation on the KCC Medical Science Executive Committee, the KCC
Website Editorial Board, and the CCRRC. This group of cancer survivors
has proven to be an invaluable resource in the planning and development
of cancer center programs. If
you would like to refer a patient to join this Patient Advocacy and
Survivorship Committee, please call Lora Rhodes at (215) 955-8370.
An idea that has
developed out of the Patient Advocacy and Survivorship Committee is that
patients who cannot or would not attend a support group still have a
desire to talk one on one with someone who shares their experience. A
“Buddy System” which will match newly diagnosed patients with
cancer survivors (with the same or similar
diagnosis and demographic characteristics) is currently being developed.
The goal is to make this networking system available to patients by the
end of this year.
Many patients do still
benefit from the group experience.
Groups can play an important role in increasing knowledge about cancer,
treatment options, and management of physical and psychosocial side
effects of treatment. Perhaps more importantly, the group process has
been shown to greatly reduce feelings of isolation and promote positive
coping.
A number of support
and educational programs are offered throughout the year to patients in
the Kimmel Cancer Center and to the community at large. The following is
a list of programs offered:
•
Man to Man, a prostate cancer self-help and networking
group co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Each month a guest lecturer speaks on an issue related to
prostate cancer. The group
meets on the third Wednesday of every month from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at
Jefferson Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust, Room M24.
•
Breast Cancer Support Group, a support and networking group for
women facing breast cancer. Guest
speakers on issues relevant to breast cancer are offered approximately
every other month at the meeting. The
group meets on the first and third Thursday of every month from 5:30pm
to 7:00pm at Jefferson Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust Street, Room M24.
•
A Place For Me, a group program for children whose parent or
grandparent has cancer. Using
art, games, and other activities, children are helped to understand and
to cope with the diagnosis of cancer
in the family. A group for
parents and grandparents is held concurrently.
This group is offered quarterly throughout the year.
•
Look Good, Feel Better, co-sponsored by the American Cancer
Society, this free workshop with beauty professionals teaches women to
understand and care for the changes that can occur in skin and hair
during treatment. The group is held periodically throughout the year.
•
Strength for Caring, co-sponsored by Ortho Biotech, this program
offers education and support for family and friends who are caring for
individuals with cancer at home. Teaches
caregivers to give comprehensive at-home care that many people with
cancer require. The group meets monthly.
•
Patient Information Session, an education and support program for
individuals receiving radiation treatment.
Physical and psychosocial effects of treatment are discussed. The sessions are held every Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00
pm in the Simon Kramer Conference Room G-312, Bodine Center for Cancer
Treatment.
•
I Can Cope, a six-week series of educational classes for people
with cancer, their family and friends, on the day-to-day issues of
living with cancer. Topics
include diagnosis, treatment, side effects of treatment, cancer and the
family, mind-body connection, insurance and financial issues, and
community resources. This
program is co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society and is offered
periodically throughout the year.
•
Wills Eye Brain Tumor Support Group, a support and networking
group to assist individuals and families in coping with and adjusting to
the diagnosis of a brain tumor. Speakers
are brought in several times each year to discuss relevant topics.
The group meets monthly from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Wills Eye
Hospital, 9th & Walnut Streets, first floor auditorium.
If you have questions
about any of the existing programs or have an idea for a new program,
please call Lora Rhodes, LSW at (215) 955-8370.
|
|
Simon
Kramer Society
The Simon Kramer Society Externship Program was
established for the purpose of exposing medical students to the
discipline of radiation oncology. During
the six-week period of the externship, the student has the unique
opportunity to begin to develop a foundation of the clinical knowledge
applied to the field of cancer therapy, an understanding of treatment
planning rationales and a grasp of currently active areas of research
and controversy. The extern
is assigned to staff member(s) and is able to observe and assist in the
clinic, attend daily planning conferences, lectures, and journal clubs.
The extern also has the opportunity to complete a research
project, tailored to his/her experience, interests and background.
The Simon Kramer Society externs for this year are
Benson Yang (Yale University School of Medicine) and Sherry Henderson
(University of Maryland School of Medicine).
Clinical
Hyperthermia
Clinical hyperthermia is a very specialized
treatment modality for patients with local regional recurrence of
cancer. It has been
available at the Bodine Center for Cancer Treatment since 1981.
The program is currently directed by Dennis Leeper, PhD and Lydia
Komarnicky, MD.
Treatment by hyperthermia is the elevation of tumor
temperatures above normal levels. Hyperthermia
will elevate the tumor tissue temperature to 40-50 degrees Celsius (104
-113 degrees Fahrenheit ) by localized microwave or ultrasound heat.
This heat can be applied externally for surface tumors or
interstitially for deep-seated tumors.
This technique is FDA approved and most health insurance
companies will pay for all or most of the cost.
Hyperthermia is used in conjunction with radiation
and/or chemotherapy and has been shown in randomized trials to increase
the efficacy of radiotherapy without increasing morbidity.
Drs. Komarnicky and Leeper have used hyperthermia with
re-irradiation for the treatment of local recurrences of certain head
and neck cancers as well as chest wall recurrences from breast cancer,
surface malignancies of soft tissue sarcoma, and melanoma.
Tumors that are hypoxic and acidic appear to be more sensitive to
the effects of hyperthermia. Even
if the patient has had prior full dose radiation, it may still be
possible to re-irradiate with hyperthermia.
The protocol “Hyperglycemia-induced acidification of tumor
during thermoradiotherapy” is now open for accrual.
For a consultation with Lydia Komarnicky, MD
regarding hyperthermia treatment, call (215) 955-6254.
|
 |
| ... |
|
•
The first patient in our Department to receive radiation therapy
in a stereotactic body frame was treated in June 1999. The device is
provided by Elekta and allows for a precise patient positioning and
localization of the isocenter before each radiation fraction with the
help of a CT simulator. The application of the frame was further
improved by the design of an elegant "smooth mover" device by Drs.
James Galvin and Jay Reiff. It is our hope to use the frame for
specific indications of tumors located in the hard to reach areas,
previously irradiated tumors, and eventually establish prospective
trials with the stereotactic body frame.
•
Richard Valicenti, MD gave Grand Rounds at St. Barnabas
Hospital in January 1999 on post-prostatectomy RT for prostate cancer.
He also delivered a lecture entitled, “Radiation dose response
is Gleason score dependent on the RTOG prostate cancer trials” at the
annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in May and
at the semi-annual meeting of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group in
June 1999. Dr.
Valicenti will speak at the American Cancer Society meeting on the
multi-disciplinary management of prostate cancer in September 1999.
He will also serve as a panelist at the annual meeting of the
American Society for Radiation Therapy and Oncology, November 1999, in
the plenary session on post-operative management for prostate cancer.
•
Adam Dicker, MD, PhD was awarded a seed grant from the
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. The grant will fund laboratory studies
that will evaluate the neovascularity of brain tumor specimens from
patients receiving thalidomide and radiation therapy on protocol. The
goal of the project is to correlate the outcome of patients treated with
an anti-angiogenesis inhibitor and radiation therapy with molecular
markers of angiogenesis.
•
Xing Xiou, PhD delivered two presentations at the AAPM
meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, July 1999. The talks were
"Optimization of Weightings for the Beams Selected Through
Forward-planning Process" and "Implementation of a Fast
Algorithm for 3-D Inverse Treatment Planning for IMRT."
•
M. Saiful Huq, PhD presented "Beam Calibration Using
Absorbed-Dose Standards," at the Annual Meeting of the American
College of Physicists in Medicine, Aspen, Colorado, May 1999.
Dr. Huq also attended the IAEA meeting in Brussels, Belgium to
finish writing a new protocol based on absorbed dose-to-water standards.
This protocol which deals with calibration of photons, electrons,
protons, kilovoltage x-rays, and multiply charged heavy-ion beams, will
be used by medical physicists around the world.
•
James M. Galvin, DSc lectured on "A Comparison of
forward and inverse treatment planning for IMRT" at the Fox Chase
Cancer Center Symposium, in Philadelphia, May 1999.
He also spoke on "Optimization of Dose Distribution Using a
Forward, Rule-Based Planning Technique" at the Annual Meeting of
the American Association of Medical Dosimetrists in Minneapolis, MN in
June 1999.
|
|
RTOG
Meeting Report
The semi-annual
meeting of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) was held at the
Wyndham Franklin Plaza in Philadelphia, PA on June 24-27, 1999. Over the
course of the weekend meeting, sub-site committees met to review and
update the status of all current RTOG protocols. Ideas in development
for upcoming studies were examined and suggestions offered by the
membership. In addition, research associates had special meeting time to
enrich their data collection and management skills.
The plenary scientific
sessions were leading edge reviews in the basic science arena. Sally
Amundson, PhD discussed “Micro Array (Chip) Methods of Genomic
Alteration Detection.” Carlo
M. Croce, MD spoke on “The FHIT Gene Deletion and Prognosis in
Solid Tumors.”
The publications
scientific session included a number
of presentations that will be published from RTOG data. Richard
Valicenti, MD presented an abstract entitled, “Radiation
Dose-Response is Gleason Score Dependent on the Radiation Therapy
Oncology Group Prostate Cancer Trials.” Results of the Phase II RTOG
trial of Weekly Taxol and radiation therapy for glioblastoma multiforme
were presented by Corey Langer, MD
Jin Soo Lee, MD presented “Effects of the Number of Patients
Treated Per Institution on the Outcome of Therapy in Patients with
Locally-Advanced Inoperable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.”
The next semi-annual
meeting of the RTOG will be at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza in January
2000. |
.
Mark Your Calendar
Join us on Friday,
September 24, 1999 at noon in front of the Bluemle Life Sciences
Building, 10th and Locust Streets.
The Kimmel Cancer Center will hold a candle lighting ceremony
to honor the lives of those lost to cancer, celebrate the lives of
survivors and to increase public awareness of the need for more
federal dollars for research in the search for a cure. This event is
being held in conjunction with Rays of Hope, the second annual
national candle lighting vigil to be held in Washington, DC, Saturday
evening, September 25, 1999.
-
The 14th Annual
Simon Kramer Lecture will be held on Wednesday, November 10,
1999. We are honored to have Norman Coleman, MD
as our guest lecturer. Plan
to join us.
-
10/6/99
Improving the Therapeutic Index of Cytotoxic Therapies: Evolving
Strategies
Robert Capizzi, MD
-
10/13/99
Management of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma
Charles Intenzo, MD
-
10/20/99
Management of Breast Cancer
Andrew Seidman, MD
-
10/27/99
Amifostine: From Bench to Bedside
Leslie Shaw, PhD
-
11/3/99
Is Apoptosis Relevant to Radiation Therapy?
Craig Thompson, MD
-
11/10/99
Title TBA
Norman Coleman, MD
-
11/17/99
Current Treatment of Leptomeningeal Cancer
Robert Aiken, MD
-
11/24/99
Cutaneous Lymphoma
Maria Werner-Wasik, MD
-
12/1/99
Integrative Medicine Update: Current Issues in
Complementary Therapies for Cancer
Patients
Steven Rozenzweig, MD
-
12/8/99
Management of Sarcoma
Arthur Staddon, MD
-
12/15/99
Germ Cell Tumors
Faith Nathan, MD
-
12/22/99
Taxanes
Lewis Rose, MD
- 12/29/99
Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
Pramila Anné, MD
|
|
| .. |
Following are other treatment
locations:
Department of Radiation Oncology
Bodine Center for Cancer Treatment
Thomas Jefferson University
111 South 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-5097
Phone: (215) 955-6702
Fax: (215) 955-5331
|
|
Jefferson-Chestnut Hill
Radiation Oncology Center
Chestnut Hill Hospital
8835 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Phone: (215) 248-8712
Fax: (215) 248-8717
|
|
Jefferson-Lower Bucks
Radiation Oncology Center
Lower Bucks Hospital
501 Bath Road
Bristol, PA 19007
Phone: (215) 785-9910
Fax: (215) 785-991
|
Radiation Oncology
Pavilion at Methodist
2301 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Phone: (215) 952-1444
Fax: (215) 952-9014 |
Frankford
Hospital – Torresdale Division
Department of Radiation Oncology
Knights and Red Lion Roads
Philadelphia, PA 19114
Phone: (215) 612-4300
Fax: (215) 612-4350 |
|
|
| .. |
Return
to Radiation Oncology Department home page
Revised: August 25, 1999. URL:
http://www.kcc.tju.edu/RadOnc/Bod_Bulletin/sum_1999.htm
|
