CONTACT:
Kristine A. Brown
Director of Public Relations
(732)
557-7167
LONG
BRANCH, NJ, (January 6,2005) –
Monmouth Medical Center has joined a
select group of major academic institutions
in a clinical trial that delves into
reducing two serious complications experienced
by head and neck cancer patients during
radiation treatment.
Monmouth’s
Institute for Advanced Radiation Oncology
is a research site for the national
study, which will explore whether the
drug amifostine can protect against
conditions of the mouth that can dramatically
affect the quality of life for patients
receiving intensity modulated radiation
therapy (IMRT), the most advanced breakthrough
in 3-D conformal therapy.
“The
goal of the study is to use amifostine
in conjunction with IMRT in an attempt
to decrease mouth sores and ulcerations,
and dry mouth — devastating symptoms
of radiation therapy for the vast majority
of head and neck cancer patients —
while maximizing a head and neck cancer
patient’s chance for a cure,”
says radiation oncologist Mitchell Weiss,
M.D., Monmouth’s principal investigator
who is conducting the trial with colleague
Sang Sim, M.D.
The
trial also is being conducted at The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center in Houston, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
Center & Research Institute at the
University of South Florida in Tampa,
Washington University School of Medicine
in St. Louis, University of Nebraska
at Omaha and San-Diego-based Radiation
Medical Group.
“It
is a unique opportunity for Monmouth
to participate in a trial that is being
conducted at only a handful of other
leading academic facilities in the United
States,” Dr. Weiss says. “It
represents another example of the high-quality
care we offer to our patients in the
local community.”
David
Sharon, M.D., medical director of the
Leon Hess Cancer Center, agrees: “Collaboration
with these prestigious institutions
in such an important clinical trial
further strengthens Monmouth Medical
Center’s longstanding position
as the region’s prominent provider
of cancer services. This commitment
is driven by our team of physicians,
nurses and other professionals whose
expertise and experience are tantamount
to our leadership role.”
In recent
years, the Institute for Advanced Radiation
Oncology at Monmouth’s Leon Hess
Cancer Center has received international,
national and statewide recognition for
its clinical research into advanced
methods of radiation therapy, including
IMRT — a highly precise tool that
has revolutionized the way cancerous
head and neck tumors are targeted.
“We
look forward to playing a major role
in this promising clinical trial in
determining whether amifostine can protect
normal tissue of the mouth so that we
can deliver the optimal dose of radiation
to the cancerous cells, ” Dr.
Weiss explains. “For our patients,
reducing complications that affect areas
of the head and neck critical for speaking
and eating is extremely vital in their
treatment and recovery.”
During
radiotherapy, nearly all head and neck
patients experience dry mouth, also
known as xerostomia, which is the inability
to salivate and remains a permanent
condition for most of these patients.
The majority of patients also develop
mucositis, which is the inflammation
of the mucous membranes and causes mouth
sores and ulcerations — a condition
that usually lasts for several weeks
after treatment.
This
clinical trial, titled “Amifostine
(Ethyol) to Reduce Mucositis, Decrease
Hematological Toxicities and Improve
Salivary Sparing in Patients with Locally
Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Treated
with Concurrent Chemotherapy and Intensity
Modulated Radiation Therapy,”
is being offered by the Institute for
Advanced Radiation Oncology through
the Head and Neck Cancer Program of
the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth
Medical Center — an affiliate
of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System.
Introduced
earlier this year by Monmouth’s
head and neck surgeons, the Head and
Neck Cancer Program is the only offering
of its kind in southern and central
New Jersey that takes a multidisciplinary
team approach to complex cancers of
the endocrine and respiratory systems,
and oral cavity.
“Since
we are one of the few cancer centers
in New Jersey to offer coordinated and
comprehensive management of head and
neck tumors, our participation in this
clinical trial provides an important
opportunity for us to further improve
the delivery of treatment to our patients,”
says Darsit Shah, M.D., the program’s
medical director.
An otolaryngologist
with special expertise in complex head
and neck surgical procedures, Dr. Shah
leads a multidisciplinary team comprised
of other ENT (ear, nose, throat) surgeons,
plastic surgeons, medical and radiation
oncologists, internists, endocrinologists,
dentists, pathologists, radiologists,
nutritionists and speech pathologists,
among other professionals who are highly
trained in providing care for patients
with head and neck cancer.
For
more information on this head and neck
clinical trial and other services of
the Monmouth’s Head and Neck Cancer
Program, call the Leon Hess Cancer Center
at Monmouth Medical Center at 732-923-6575.
