Cancer Center’s Exciting Updates

Happy Summer! Dr. Gutierrez and I have been on a sabbatical from writing our blog but we are committed to getting back to it. We have had a productive and busy first half of this year and we’ll be writing about each of these topics in future blogs.

First and of great interest was the initiation of our collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital in January of this year. This was their first arrangement with a hospital based cancer center outside of the Northeast. The finalization of this contract will allow us to work together formally in a number of ways including assisting patients who spend time both here in South Florida and in the New England area to have seamless easy to obtain care with professionals at both places familiar with their care. There are numerous other exciting opportunities that we will now have with Mass General Hospital.

Second Dr. Gutierrez has successfully opened several Phase 1 and 2 studies here at the Bienes Cancer Center. This is truly a unique feat. Very few hospitals outside an academic structure are able to do this. We now have the ability to offer patients extremely dynamic new treatment options. Those trials are listed on our website.

We also continue to grow. With the addition of a breast cancer nurse navigator we are set to launch our collaborative multidisciplinary breast clinic next month. We have a number of other great developments in our breast center that will be discussed in future blogs – not the least of which is the soon to be opening Dorothy Mangurian Comprehensive Women’s Center in September 2010.

And finally for this blog entry please note that since we last wrote we have hired three cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons and a urologic oncologist to join the Holy Cross Medical Group and Bienes Cancer Center physician team.

Stay tuned….it’s exciting!

Cancer Center Executive Director Maureen Mann & Cancer Center Medical Director Dr. Gutierrez

Posted in Breast Cancer Surgery, General Medical, Research and Genetics |

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Non-Small Cell Lung & Small Cell Lung Cancer Research Trials

Holy Cross Hospital is building a large portfolio of clinical trials for Lung Cancer to make available the latest in therapy for both Non-Small Cell Lung and Small Cell Lung Cancer patients.  You can access the trials on our web site and below is the press release that tells you all about our latest Phase 1 trial for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Holy Cross Hospital Leads in Cancer Research By Enrolling First Patient in International Clinical Trial

Hospital seeks participants with non-small cell lung cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options

 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center at Holy Cross Hospital has enrolled the first patient in what will be the worldwide clinical trial of a new treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have exhausted all other options for treatment.

 Lung cancer accounts for the most cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the United States. Approximately 87 percent of all lung cancers are non-small cell, a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the lung.  Despite medical advances, the five year survival rate for patients diagnosed in any stage of NSCLC is just 15 percent and only 2 percent for those patients whose disease has metastasized and spread outside the lung.

 Holy Cross Hospital, which collaborates with Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston to expand oncology services to South Florida residents, is participating in the FDA study of the new investigational drug PF-02341066 that selectively targets cancer-causing genes present in some NSCLC patients.

 “Depending on the patient’s age, stage of the disease and overall health, treatments for non-small cell lung cancer can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or a combination of these.  In our investigation of this new drug, we are working with patients for whom these standard of care treatments have not been able to stop the growth of their disease,” said Dr. Martin Gutierrez, medical director of the Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center at Holy Cross Hospital.

Eligible patients for the study can be male or female, must be at least 18 years of age and have a proven diagnosis of NSCLC that showed progression after at least one but no more than two chemotherapy regimens.  Patients accepted into the study receive the drug orally on a continuous schedule.

Holy Cross Hospital is participating in both Phase One and Phase Two of the trial which is officially titled “Open-Label, Randomized Study of the Safety, Efficacy, and Pharmacokinetics of Erlotinib with or without PF-02341066 in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Adenocarcinoma of the Lung.” 

The Holy Cross Hospital Cancer Center offers disease specific care in all oncology sub-specialties including medical, surgical and radiation oncology.  The Cancer Center also offers research trials that span from early drug development through the later Phase 3 stages for multiple types of cancer.

Those interested in enrolling in the study or learning more should call the Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center research office at 954-267-7704 or visit www.holycrosscancer.com.

Tags: lung cancer, lung cancer clinical trials, lung cancer phase 1 clinical trials, lung cancer research trials, non-small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, small cell lung carcinoma
Posted in General Medical, Lung Cancer, Research and Genetics |

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Cancer Research & Treatment FREE Education Program

Cancer patients and survivors, their families, cancer support groups and the public are invited to attend UPDATE 2010: Breast, Lung and Colorectal Cancer Research and Treatment featuring presentations, in non-technical language, by a panel of distinguished cancer experts from Holy Cross Hospital and the Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center. The event will begin with a complimentary light continental breakfast followed by presentations by the speakers, and a question-answer session with the panelists.

Breast Cancer –Screening and Diagnosis: What Is New and What Is Right?
Joseph Casey, M.D., Breast Surgical Oncologist

New Developments in Breast Cancer Surgery and Breast Reconstruction
Marnie Kaplan, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Breast Surgical Oncologist

What Role Does Chemotherapy Play in Breast Cancer Treatment?
Ena Segota, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Medical Oncologist/Hematologist

Colorectal Cancer Screening – How Important Is It?
Donald Brust, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Gastroenterologist

Surgical Intervention For Colon Cancer: Open Surgery Vs Laparoscopic Surgery
Elie Schochet, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Colorectal Surgeon

New Radiation Oncology Advances For Treating Cancer
Lav Goyal, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Radiation Oncologist

Lung Cancer – What is State of the Art Care?
Martin Gutierrez, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Medical Oncologist/Hematologist

Developing New Cancer Drugs and Clinical Trials for Lung Cancer
Martin Gutierrez, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital, Medical Oncologist/Hematologist
Carol Brudenell, RN, AOCN, Holy Cross Hospital, Research Manager

Q&A Panel

Saturday, March 27, 2010 • 8:30 am – 12:30 pm                     
Holy Cross Hospital                                                                        
4725 North Federal Highway                                                         
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308                                               
Sister Innocent Conference Center

This program is jointly sponsored by Holy Cross Hospital’s Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Syncure Cancer Research Foundation as a public service for cancer patients and their families.

Admission to the program is FREE with advanced registration. Please register early; seating is limited!

To register or for additional information, please contact Holy Cross Hospital:

Toll-Free: 800-903-9702 / Web Address: www.holy-cross.com

Posted in Breast Cancer Surgery, Cancer Support, General Medical, Lung Cancer, Radiation, Research and Genetics, Spirituality |

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2009 Recap

How quickly this year has passed! It is hard for us to believe that this is the last blog post for our first year on the blogging circuit! We have enjoyed bringing this new venue of information and communication to you – our cancer center patients and interested community – and we hope that you have found it to be valuable too!.

It has been quite a busy and productive year for us at Holy Cross and the Bienes Cancer Center. We have continued to grow – both in terms of patient volume and size of professional staff. During 2009 we added new subspecialties and sub-specialists to our team including colorectal surgeons – Drs. Lescher, Basu and Schochet and added a new Hematologist/Oncologist Dr. David Drew who joined us in November from the National Cancer Institute. We added new technologies in our radiation oncology department including a new ultrasound based tumor localization system and a brand new linear accelerator with IGRT (Image-guided radiation therapy) and stereotactic radiosurgery capabilities. There is no cancer center in South Florida that has more technology than we do now! And we have maintained our high touch service along with the spirituality and faith based approach that we do with everything at Holy Cross. We continued to develop our disease specific focus for our physicians so that we have dedicated teams of physicians now who focus their practices on breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, lung cancers and colorectal cancers. This specialization is allowing us to be the true leaders in our field that patients deserve and need.

Finally we have significantly expanded our clinical research program – opening the first community hospital based phase 1 clinical trials for cancer in South Florida. We are truly excited to be able to offer these new options to patients who have exhausted all other treatments.

Thank you for participating with us on our journey. 2010 promises to be even more exciting!

Tags: IGRT, image guided radiation therapy, phase 1 clinical trials, stereotactic radiosurgery
Posted in Breast Cancer Surgery, Gastrointestinal Cancer, General Medical, Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Radiation, Research and Genetics, Spirituality |

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