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The WSU Physician Group provides full-spectrum radiotherapy services. Radiation therapy is effective in treating many types of cancer, either as primary or adjuvant treatment. In metastatic cancer, radiation therapy is often an effective palliative measure that can significantly improve a patient's functional status and quality of life.

Our radiotherapy expertise in primary and metastatic tumors includes:

• Brain tumors
• Breast cancers
• Colorectal cancers
• Dermatologic cancers
• Gynecologic cancers
• Head and neck tumors
• Larynx cancers
• Lung and hepato-biliary cancers
• Lymphomas
• Pancreatic cancers
• Pediatric cancers
• Prostate, bladder and renal tumors
• Sarcomas
  

• Michigan's only B-mode Acquisition & Targeting (BAT) ultrasound;
• One of the only neutron superconducting cyclotron in clinical use in the United States; and
• Michigan's only Gamma Knife radiosurgery facility.

Three-dimensional treatment planning is an integral part of our program. The safest and most effective radiotherapy begins with a strategic plan to pinpoint the location of the tumor, determine the proper dose of radiation and develop a treatment schedule.

Wayne State University physicians are national leaders in the application of computerized-tomography (CT) images in treatment planning for radiotherapy. As they were among the first in the country to use this technology, they have more experience in its application than most other specialists.

Cross-sectional studies and computer analysis allow for accurate localization and measurement of the tumor. Based on these data, a treatment regimen is planned that will deliver the maximum radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing exposure to the surrounding normal tissue.

Several definitive studies have demonstrated that the use of three-dimensional treatment planning allows for the safe delivery of higher doses of radiation with improvements in tumor control rates and reduction in toxicity.

Specialized Techniques for Prostate Cancer

Our urologic oncologists and radiation oncologists treat more than 500 men with prostate cancer each year, making our program one of the busiest in the state of Michigan.

• BAT Ultrasound Localization
  The Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center is the only facility in Michigan using BAT ultrasound for daily prostate localization in patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Since the actual position of the prostate within the body can vary by up to an inch from day to day, this technique allows us to pinpoint its exact location just before treatment and target it with the appropriate does of radiotherapy.

  Each day, an ultrasonic probe is coupled to a positioning-sensing device that indicates the location and orientation of the prostate relative to the treatment machine. This position is compared to the prostate's original position at the time of treatment planning. The patient's body is then repositioned so that the prostate is right on target for the proper dose of radiotherapy. In treatment centers without BAT ultrasound, specialists must often administer a larger dose of radiotherapy than is actually needed just to make sure the prostate is within treatment range.
  
  By using BAT ultrasound, margins added to the target to account for localization and immobilization errors are reduced to as little as two millimeters. This allows for successful dose escalation while decreasing the risk of complications.
  
  

• Neutron Cyclotron
  University Radiation Oncologists operate one of only two superconducting cyclotrons in the country. This device uses neutron-beam radiation generated by a cyclotron to induce tumorcell response.

  The WSU radiotherapy team has more experience than anyone in the world using the neutron cyclotron for prostate cancer, having treated nearly 1,000 patients during the past 10 years.
  Our third-generation neutron cyclotron combines three-dimensional treatment planning with a type of collimator that tailors the beam of radiation to the exact size, shape and location of each person's tumor. Data show that this unique field-shaping system is more successful at protecting healthy tissue than any other neutron facility in the world.
  The neutron cyclotron is now the standard of care for institute patients, offering them a treatment success rate that is 10 percent higher than that of patients treated with standard, conformal external beam radiation therapy.
  
  

• Brachytherapy
  University Radiation Oncologists are leaders in the application of interstitial brachytherapy for prostate cancer, head and neck cancers and sarcomas.

  Brachytherapy, which places the radiation source as close as possible to the tumor site, is an alternative to external beam radiation for selected prostate cancer patients. Typically, radioactive seed implants are used to treat men with localized prostate cancer and good prognoses.
  This technique offers the advantage of one-day treatment. In addition, data indicate that it may protect bowel function and potency more effectively than external beam radiation.
  

Advances in Gynecologic Cancers

Radiotherapy frequently plays a central role in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies of various stages.

Wayne State University radiation oncologists are national leaders in the use of high-dose-rate brachytherapy for patients with uterine and cervical cancers.
Cure rates by WSU physicians at the Karmanos Cancer Institute for gynecologic cancers treated by means of HDR brachytherapy are among the highest in the United States. More than 100 patients annually are treated by WSU radiation oncologists with this technique, making this one of the most active centers in the country for gynecologic brachytherapy.

HDR brachytherapy begins with the development of a three-dimensional treatment plan to identify the target positions for radiation in and around the tumor. A computer-directed delivery system then places the radioactive sources at the designated sites. University Radiation Oncologists also work with gynecologists to perform HDR brachytherapy via surgery in carefully selected patients.
For women who do not require or are unable to tolerate HDR brachytherapy, the department also offers external conformal radiation and low-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Brain Tumors
The Karmanos Cancer Institute is a regional referral center for Gamma Knife treatment for primary and metastatic brain tumors in adults and children.
University Radiation Oncologists, in collaboration with neurosurgeons and physicists, treat nearly 100 brain-tumor patients each year using Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery.

In selected patients, WSU oncology specialists have attained long-term control rates of up to 75 percent following a single Gamma Knife treatment.
Since opening Michigan's first and only Gamma Knife facility in 1996, WSU physicians have established Gamma Knife treatment as the standard of care for many brain tumors, as well as to treat vascular malformations and functional disorders, such as trigeminal neuralgia.

Innovations in Treating Hematological Malignancies
Wayne State University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute have been using total-body irradiation in conjunction with bone-marrow transplantation for the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia since 1990.

University Radiation Oncologists, physicists and hematologists work closely in planning a short, intense course of radiation for these patients in conjunction with chemotherapy. Irradiation is administered using a dedicated total-body irradiation unit, the only such unit in Michigan.

This technique prepares the body for bone-marrow transplantation by eradicating the patient's existing bone marrow. Total-body irradiation, in conjunction with chemotherapy, has been shown to increase the success rate for transplantation.

Dermatologic Cancers
The Karmanos Cancer Institute is one of only two centers in Michigan and a handful in the United States to offer total skin radiation therapy for patients with disseminated cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and certain other skin cancers.
Although total skin irradiation is a technically complex and demanding procedure, it offers five-year cure rates as high as 50 percent.

University Radiation Oncologists use electron-beam therapy generated by a specialized machine that carefully regulates the depth of penetration of the treatment beam. This allows the maximum dose to be deposited at the tumor site and avoids healthy underlying tissue and organs.

Pediatric Cancers
The Wayne State University Physician Group, in conjunction with the Children's Hospital of Michigan, has one of the largest pediatric cancer programs in the country. WSU radiation oncologists are among the nation's most experienced specialists in treating pediatric cancers, including leukemia and solid tumors.
Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of childhood leukemia, brain tumors, neuroblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma and other musculoskeletal tumors.
WSU specialists are leaders in the Pediatric Oncology Group, one of the major national study groups for children's cancer. Through participation in this research group, they are on the vanguard of major developments in cancer treatment for pediatric cancer patients.

Members of the radiation oncology department work closely with medical oncologists, hematologists and pediatric subspecialists to develop a treatment plan that considers each child's emotional and psychological needs. Many of our pediatric patients are treated using protocols from the Pediatric Oncology Group.