A little more than a year ago, Cookeville Regional Medical Center opened the doors of a new 33,000 square-foot Cancer Center. Already providing excellent community cancer care, the state-of-the-art center underscored the hospital’s commitment to ensuring their patients received cutting-edge treatment on par with what was available in larger urban areas to the east and west.

 

Before making a multi-million dollar investment in radiation therapy, Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) researched a number of different targeted delivery systems. Ultimately, clinicians and administrators were most impressed with the TomoTherapy^® Hi-Art^® treatment system. One of only two facilities in Tennessee (the other is in Knoxville) to offer tomotherapy, the very first person to benefit from the new technology was a patient who traveled 80 miles daily from Nashville to have access to the therapy.

 

Algis Sidrys, MD, who is double board certified in medical and radiation oncology, said the results and patient satisfaction have confirmed their purchase decision. “We felt that it was the most accurate,” he said of their choice, which integrates imaging into the treatment geometry. Sidrys added the equipment looks like a CT scanner because computed tomography capabilities are part of the delivery system. Prior to each radiation treatment, a patient undergoes a scan, which Sidrys said only takes 30-60 seconds to complete. The resulting three-dimensional image of the area of interest allows clinicians to verify the size, shape and location of tumors before treatment.

 

“We can overlap the day’s scan with our original master plan,” explained Sidrys. He added the scan allows the oncologist to compare bone structures, air columns when dealing with the head and neck tumors, and soft tissue to ensure the radiation plan is lined up properly or to make any needed adjustments to achieve pinpoint accuracy. “We can, extremely accurately, make sure the treatment is going exactly where we want it to go … and equally important … not going where we don’t want to treat.”

 

The conformal radiation therapy system includes a 32-processor computer platform that rapidly creates sophisticated intensity-modulated radiation therapy plans. Tomotherapy has the ability to treat multiple tumors of varying size and complexity at the same time. Unlike conventional radiation therapy systems that deliver a wide beam of radiation from a few angles, the TomoTherapy Hi-Art system delivers radiation continuously from 360 degrees through tens of thousands of beamlets to attack the tumor while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue.

 

“Because we can pinpoint radiation to our target without increased toxicity to normal tissue, this leads to a potential for a higher cure rate and decreased potential for short- and long-term side effects,” Sidrys noted.

 

He added patients receive roughly the same amount of radiation with each treatment that they would with a conventional system. Sidrys also said the tomotherapy session is typically a little longer than conventional radiation. “Depending on the complexity, they can be as short as four minutes or as long as 12 minutes,” he said of the average length of treatment. However, it is typically much shorter than an average CyberKnife™ treatment, which can last 30-60 minutes.

 

Sidrys said this incarnation of IMRT is particularly useful in treating head and neck cancers while helping the clinical team avoid the spine or carotid artery. Similarly, it allows for precise dose delivery for prostate cancer while minimizing the risk of hitting the bladder or rectum. He was quick to say the new technology requires a dedicated team of specially trained physicists, therapists, nurses and physicians all working together to achieve an optimal outcome for the patient.

 

In addition to tomotherapy, CRMC Cancer Center also offers other cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment options including the da Vinci^® Robotic Surgical System. The center recently expanded its commitment to research and the number of clinical trials offered through an affiliation with the Southwest Oncology Group via the University of Tennessee Health Care Systems. In 2009, the cancer program received a three-year approval with commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.