Danbury Hospital Physicians Discuss Advances In Lung Cancer Treatment

DANBURY — November is the date of the Great American Smoke Out and doctors at Danbury Hospital feel so strongly about not smoking that five physicians recently joined together to remind the public that lung cancer kills.

The doctors – including a thoracic surgeon, two radiologists, an oncologist, and pulmonary specialist – spoke at Danbury Hospital’s recent Medical Town Meeting, “Lung Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment in the Millennium.”

While we’ve heard the message before, it can not be stressed enough, said the doctors: “Don’t smoke.” Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women, with more than 170,000 new cases a year. Most cases of lung cancer affect smokers.

“Avoidance of tobacco would reduce 90 percent of lung cancer,” said radiologist Donald Hulnick, MD.

And because it often has no symptoms and is diagnosed in an advanced stage, many more people will die of lung cancer than from some of the more treatable forms of cancer. “Lung cancer surpasses breast cancer in being a killer,” said vascular/thoracic surgeon Michael Walker, MD, and it surpasses colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined.

The good news in all of this, however, is that doctors have more advanced technology to diagnose problems earlier. “Early detection improves the chances of a cure,” said Dr Hulnick.

It used to be that doctors screened for lung cancer through a chest X-ray, which didn’t pick up much. Today, however, they can rely on low-dose CT scanning, MRI, ultrasound and PET technology to pick up more signs of cancer on a lung. “Screening saves lives,” said Dr Hulnick. It’s as important as screening for breast and colon cancer.

Advances have also been made to improve diagnostic bronchoscopy, a procedure in which a tube is inserted down the throat to see into the lungs, according to Eric Jimenez, MD, chief of pulmonary medicine. Fluorescent laser imaging is helping this procedure make diagnoses earlier.

When it comes to treating lung cancer, doctors also have new options. One new treatment uses laser light to kill cancer cells, while another, 3-D conformal treatment planning, allows a customized dose of radiation to better target a tumor. “This technique allows us to better target the tumor and conform the dose to the target volume,” said radiologist John Spera, MD.

Research is also underway at Danbury Hospital to help find new treatments for lung cancer. The hospital participates in five clinical trials that are testing new chemotherapy drugs, according to oncologist Vincent Rella, MD. “Today’s drugs are yesterday’s experimental drugs,” he said.

Drugs being studied include one that cuts off the blood supply to tumors, preventing their growth. Another looks at a drug that would boost the benefits of chemotherapy, while others are working with antibodies, vaccines, and an agent that might stop the stimulation of cancer cells to grow.

To request a free copy of a patient information guide on low-dose Screening Chest CT for early detection of lung cancer, call Gail Lehman, Danbury Hospital Department of Radiology, at 797-7195.