More Precise Cancer Treatment Known As TomoTherapy Available at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

TomoTherapy, an innovative cancer treatment that allows physicians to more accurately target tumors and deliver a higher dose of radiation while minimizing side effects and treatment time is now available to New Jersey residents at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

"The TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® system provides physicians with three-dimensional images of the patient's body immediately before treatment, showing the most current size, shape and location of the tumor and enabling them to pinpoint exactly where the radiation should be delivered," said Bruce Haffty, MD, chief of radiation oncology at RWJUH, professor and chair of radiation oncology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and associate director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. "The images can also be used to analyze and, if necessary, modify the patient's treatment at any point during the process."

Compared to traditional radiation therapy machines that deliver a wide beam of radiation from only a few angles, the TomoTherapy Hi·Art system divides a single radiation beam into smaller, more narrow beams, and continuously delivers radiation from all angles around the patient.

"It is truly an individualized approach as the radiation beam is contoured and shaped to more precisely target the tumor and avoid nearby normal tissues," added Dr. Haffty.

In addition to TomoTherapy, RWJUH offers a wide range of the latest cancer treatments and procedures including brachytherapy, total skin electron beam therapy and minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment using the da Vinci surgical robot. RWJUH is the flagship hospital of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The hospital provides same-day chemotherapy, medical oncology, hematology-oncology, surgical oncology, bone marrow transplant and radiation therapy. RWJUH's cancer program has also been accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer.

For more information about TomoTherapy, view our TomoTherapy information page, or call the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology at (732) 253-3939.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

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