Hoag grateful patient and author Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda, longtime
donors, have graciously committed $9 million to transform
cancer care in Orange County. In recognition, Hoag is naming the Dean & Gerda Koontz
Radiation Oncology Center in their honor.
Through the couple’s generosity, Hoag will be the only hospital in
Orange County, and one of only two in California, to introduce the ViewRay
MRIdian©, the world’s first MRI-guided radiation therapy system.
The MRIdian uses next generation technology to combine a diagnostic quality
MRI scanner with a radiation linear accelerator. This allows for streaming
real-time imaging of the radiation target and surrounding critical structures
while a patient is being treated, a capability which has not been available
to doctors previously.
This tremendous support of
Hoag Family Cancer Institute will provide cancer patients with groundbreaking technology that will
improve outcomes, allow doctors to target difficult-to-treat cancers and
decrease the side effects associated with radiation cancer treatments.
“This technology ushers in a new era of
cancer treatment, helping us to realize the promise of targeted medicine in a way that
is safer and more effective for our patients,” said
Burton L. Eisenberg, M.D., Grace E. Hoag Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair of Hoag Family
Cancer Institute. “The benefit this enhanced system will provide
cancer patients in our community cannot be overstated, and we are deeply
grateful to the Koontz family for this gift.”
MRI-guided radiation therapy can be used to treat many cancer types, especially
tumors which are mobile, or are adjacent to critical structures which
are mobile.
Pancreatic cancer, for example, is an organ that moves and can be seen much more clearly
using MRI-guided imaging.
“We all know that our bodies are constantly in motion. Our lungs
move as we breath, our bowels move as we digest, our bladders fill and
empty, and any tumor or adjacent organ will shift accordingly,” states
Craig Cox, M.D., Medical Director of Hoag Radiation Oncology. “One of the fundamental
challenges in radiation oncology is how to hit a moving target. With real-time
MRI-guided therapy, we now can treat with exact precision. We can see
the target, we can see the critical normal tissue we want to avoid and
react appropriately.”
The ViewRay MRIdian cancer treatment system also allows for adaptive planning
and gated radiation treatment. These unique capabilities allow radiation
oncologists to modify their treatment plan to account for any variation
in the location, shape and size of the tumor while the patient is being
treated. Doctors will be able to change the shape of the radiation dose
within the body, and to control the delivery of the beams depending on
how a tumor or critical normal structure tracks.
“Adaptive planning and real-time tracking will immediately make radiation
therapy more precise – we will be able to change our radiation plan
on the fly, and react to the conditions of the day, or even the fraction
of a minute,” says
Peter Chen, M.D., Hoag Radiation Oncologist. “This in and of itself is very exciting,
but there are also intriguing possibilities for the future. Research is
under way to look at how the MRI profile of a tumor changes as a patient’s
treatment progresses. This data may allow us to better monitor or predict
a patient’s outcome, with the ultimate goal of adapting a radiation
plan based on the tumor’s MRI response, leading to a personalized
dose plan, with no more and no less radiation than needed.”
“The fact that this technology will result in better outcomes and
improved quality of life makes it a game-changer,” Dr. Cox said.
“We are excited to be able to offer it as part of our comprehensive
cancer care and very grateful to the Koontz family for making it possible.”
Visit
Stu News Newport to view the original article.