Advanced Programs, Technologies Accelerate Lung Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment
Finding and treating lung cancers at their earliest stage continues to drive our cancer team, according to Jose Rodriguez, MD, FACS, system director of thoracic surgery and certified physician with MD Anderson Cancer Network®. The following advancements combine to offer a full spectrum of lung cancer care close to home.
- Miami Valley Hospital performed its 100th MonarchTM Platform case in November 2021, a milestone for this technology that aids in earlier diagnosis and treatment of lung cancers. The Monarch Platform is a robotic bronchoscope that provides improved vision, reach, and control for viewing inside a patient’s airways. The computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of the patient’s own lung anatomy enables pulmonary specialists to search the delicate, distant branches of the lung and obtain tissue samples from hard-to-reach nodules for biopsy. Miami Valley Hospital was the first in Ohio to use this technology. The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation provided funding for the equipment, which launched in August 2020.
- A new system-wide Lung Nodule Evaluation Program is in development at Premier Health to provide a coordinated program for evaluation, risk stratification, monitoring, and optimization of care for patients with lung nodules. Often, lung nodules are found incidentally through X-rays and CT scans. Some lung nodules, depending on patient risk factors, can go on to develop into lung cancers. The new program, featuring an advanced practice nurse (APRN), will bring a highly coordinated approach for managing these patients, with a goal of diagnosing lung cancers at their earliest stages.
A collaborative effort by pulmonology, medical oncology, and diagnostic imaging aims to standardize the diagnostic order set to improve time between lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.
