Advances University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center Winter 2015 uwhealth.org/cancer facebook.com/uwcarbone twitter.com/uwcarbone instagram.com/uwcarbone W hen Dennis Bricco underwent radiation treatment at UW Hospital this past September, he became one of the first patients in the country to have a tumor treated with the newest version of radiotherapy technology. Bricco, 58, is in his fourth year of traveling from his Shawano County home to the UW Carbone Cancer Center in Madison for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. He’s undergone surgery, cryoablation, and treatment with tiny radioactive glass spheres that were infused into his liver. Before the September treatments, his radiation oncologist Dr. Michael Bassetti talked with him about the possible advantages and disadvantages of having radiation therapy in the nation’s second ViewRay ™ system. Bricco recalls the actual therapy as no big deal. “It felt like a bite from the smallest bee in the whole wide world,’’ he says. “They make it so you’re really comfortable in there.” But for Dr. Bassetti, the treatment view of Bricco’s liver tumor was unparalleled. Unlike current technology, which uses CT scans to picture the tumor before treatment begins, the newest technology uses real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide the radiotherapy. “For the first time we are able to see a patient’s tumors and internal organs in real time, as we are treating the patient,’’ says Bassetti, assistant professor of human oncology. Physicians at UW Health are using this technology for complex patients, such as Bricco, who have tumors that move as they are being treated. Generally, these are tumors in the lung, liver, GI tract and thorax. Bricco’s medical oncologist Dr. Sam Lubner says he appreciates Dr. Bassetti’s expertise in using this new radiotherapy application. “For Dennis, and people like him who are living longer and better with their cancer, we need to work as a team and apply tools like these where they are best used,’’ Lubner says. “Dennis has had multiple invasive treatments to his liver. A precise, non-invasive treatment is exactly what we needed for Dennis, and I was thrilled that Dr. Bassetti and his colleagues brought it up as an option.” The real-time technology gives clinicians the ability to clearly see the target tumor and monitor where the radiation dose is being delivered. During treatment, the system scans the patient’s anatomy and adjusts for motion in real time, delivering the radiation dose only when the tumor is located exactly where it should be. If the tumor moves beyond the pre-defined area, the beam automatically pauses, resuming when the target moves back into the area. “One of the key advantages is that this technology allows us to ’view and gate’ the radiation delivery in real time, so we are less likely to injure normal tissue while delivering full dose to the tumor,’’ says Dr. Paul Harari, chair of the department of human oncology. While the patient is on the treatment table, this system can quickly compare the pre- treatment MRI image to the planning image and predict the dose to be delivered. With this information, clinicians can determine whether organ motion or other changes in the patient’s anatomy might result in sub-optimal treatment. After consulting with the physician, the plan can be adapted to re-optimize the dose in several minutes. The continuous imaging throughout the treatment allows the shape of the beam to be adapted as needed to deliver the prescribed treatment. And over the course of therapy as the patient loses weight, the tumor changes shape or the patient’s anatomy shifts from day to day –physicians can adjust the radiation treatment to these changes. In fact, the physicians are amazed by what they have seen. “We are pulling up the blinds on some things we have never seen before,’’ says Harari. “We’re seeing dynamic motion in anatomic structures that we did not previously envision to have motion.” The medical physics researcher team, led by Dr. John Bayouth, professor of human oncology, say it’s exciting to finally be able to see the tissues as they are being treated. “This technology has tremendous potential,’’ he says. “As researchers, we’re only beginning to imagine the questions we can ask with it.” It’s still early days for the ViewRay system, which had its third system recently go online at UCLA. But Bassetti says the UW team is developing clinical protocols to track data from patients like Bricco to see how their outcomes compare with conventional non-MRI based treatments. John Bayouth, PhD, Paul Harari, MD and Michael Bassetti, MD, of the UW Department of Human Oncology, are members of the team introducing a new MRI-guided form of radiation therapy at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. UW Second in Nation to Introduce New Radiation Oncology Technology n Advances is published semi-annually by the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC), a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. n For patient services at the UWCCC, please contact Cancer Connect, (800) 622-8922 or (608) 262-5223 or e-mail [email protected]Please help us update our mailing list. If you have moved, or do not wish to receive this publication in the future, please return this form to: Craig Robida UW Carbone Cancer Center 600 Highland Avenue, K4/626 Madison, WI 53792-6164 [email protected]n I am moving. Here is my new address: n Please remove me from the mailing list. Contact Craig at [email protected]or (608) 263-4982 for address corrections or to be removed from our mailing list. Connect with us on Social Media Wisconsin's only comprehensive cancer center as designated by the National Cancer Institute Advances The UW Carbone Cancer Center is on social media! Connect with us to learn more about our groundbreaking research, prevention information and remarkable patient stories: pinterest.com/uwcarbone gplus.to/uwcarbone Making a Difference YES! I want to make a difference by giving to the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. Donor’s name(s)______________________________________________________ Street ______________________________________________________________ City ___________________________ State _________ Zip ________________ I/We wish to make a donation of $ ______________________________________ In memory of (optional) ________________________________________________ In honor of (optional) __________________________________________________ Please send acknowledgment card to: (optional) Name ______________________________________________________________ Street ______________________________________________________________ City ___________________________ State _________ Zip ________________ Check enclosed. Please make checks payable to UW Carbone Cancer Center. Please charge my gift to my: Visa Mastercard Cardholder’s name (please print) ________________________________________ Credit card number ______________________________ Exp. date _________ Cardholder’s signature ____________________________ Date ______________ Mail this form to: UW Carbone Cancer Center 600 Highland Avenue, K4/658 Madison, WI 53792-6164 You can also donate online by visiting uwhealth.org/cancerdonation Please call (608) 263-0160 with questions. The 2nd annual “Mad-City Pond Hockey Championships” was held the weekend of Jan. 23-25 at Vilas Park Pond in Madison. The event brought together more than 50 teams with over 400 people participating in men’s, women’s and co-ed divisions in the tournament. Proceeds of $3,000 from a raffle, silent auction and concessions went to benefit UWCCC’s pancreatic cancer research fund. The event’s co-organizers, Brad Mastenbrook and Rich Kerns, already have begun planning for the 2016 event. Lisa Delmore, assistant general manager (left) and Michelle Zuelke, general manager (right) of Tanger Outlets Wisconsin Dells, WI recently donated more than $25,000 to support breast cancer research. Tanger Outlets raised this money at their annual Pink Partini event held last October. LEARN MORE Watch a video about the ViewRay ™ system by visiting uwhealth.org/viewray P eggy Zimdars, breast cancer survivor, has “grounds for celebration” and she hopes to encourage others to brew up needed support for the UW Carbone Cancer Center. “I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. In less than a week, I went from hearing I had a perfect mammogram, to my physician wondering if she felt an edge, to waking up from surgery and realizing my diagnosis,” said Peggy. “My surgery was at another facility so I did not receive any cancer information until the day I began chemotherapy at the UWCC. Arriving with many questions and concerns, I was reassured by the oncology team who listened, answered our questions, and with concern for each family member, helped us adjust to a new “normal” with both quality care and concern for me as an individual.” Peggy and her husband, John thought 10 years since diagnosis was “Grounds for Celebration,” which made them think of coffee, which led to how they wanted to celebrate. According to Peggy, “Our goal is to purchase up to 1000 coffee pillows from Door County Coffee for the UWCCC. If each person who receives a coffee pillow would host a coffee for 10 people and each of the 10 individuals would donate $10 to the UWCCC, each coffee pillow would raise $100, with the potential to raise thousands of dollars together.” Individuals and families might choose to celebrate with the coffee together, rather than hosting a coffee and donate $100 per coffee packet to the UWCCC. If 100 cancer survivors could engage 10 people who would each host coffee for 10 friends who each donated $10, then $100,000 could be raised. If individuals are interested in learning more about how they can receive coffee pillows and host their own “Grounds for Celebration,” please contact Peggy at [email protected] or 608-233-8546. Grounds for Celebration: A Unique Coffee Fundraiser That is Percolating D r. Howard Bailey has been named director of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center effective April 1, 2015. A professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Bailey is a medical oncologist who specializes in gynecologic and soft-tissue cancers and cancer prevention. He had served as interim director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center since September 2013. “The Carbone Cancer Center embodies the spirit of what this university accomplishes for our state,” said Dr. Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “Its researchers make important discoveries that lead to better treatments; its clinicians deliver those treatments to patients; and both educate a wide range of health professionals and scientists who will move the field forward in the future. Howard has excelled in all roles and it is my great privilege to have him move into the top leadership role at this jewel in our campus crown.” “It is an incredible honor and privilege to be named director of Wisconsin’s only NIH- designated Comprehensive Cancer Center,” said Dr. Bailey. “The UW Carbone Cancer Center continues to be Wisconsin’s leader in advancing discovery through basic, clinical and population cancer research while translating this knowledge into quality care for those affected by cancer.” Bailey, who worked under and alongside Dr. Paul Carbone, for whom the cancer center is named, has been an active cancer clinician and researcher since joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. He has led the development of three different state- and nationwide clinical research networks to expand access to cutting-edge research for patients. In 2011, he was appointed to the national committee which reviews all National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers and is currently the national chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Cancer Prevention Committee. An expert on drug and nutrient development for cancer prevention and treatment, he has directed or participated in more than 100 cancer clinical trials examining agents for preventing or treating malignancies. He graduated from medical school at the University of North Dakota and completed his internship and residency at Southwestern Michigan Area Health Education Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He completed fellowships in medical oncology and oncologic research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. Howard Bailey named Cancer Center director
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AdvancesUniversity of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center