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New Technology

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) patients benefit from leading-edge imaging and treatment technologies—many offered for the first time in Utah and others available nowhere else in the Intermountain West.

Imaging Technology

When treating cancer, doctors depend on accurate imaging technology to visualize the size, shape, and location of a tumor. Armed with this information, doctors give patients accurate diagnoses, plan the most effective therapies, and monitor the results.

Digital Mammography

HCI has two full-field digital mammography units, the first such units in the Intermountain West. With this technology, doctors can magnify, change brightness or contrast, or otherwise enhance the image to improve their ability to detect and diagnose breast cancer. One unit also has stereotactic capabilities to perform minimally invasive biopsies. HCI offers full-field digital mammography for annual screening mammograms as well as for diagnostic evaluation of women with breast abnormalities.

Combined PET/CT

The combined Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computer Tomography (CT) unit is the first in the Intermountain West and the most accurate imaging technique to detect cancer. The PET/CT combines two types of imaging: the PET provides color images of slight increases in metabolism seen in active cancer cells, while the CT provides a detailed picture of the anatomy, so doctors can see the size and shape of cancer tumors and their relationship and proximity to other parts of the body. Combining these technologies reduces the number of procedures a patient must undergo while giving doctors a powerful new way to characterize the tumor. This characterization, which can include whether cancer has spread, how aggressively it is growing, and where it is located in relation to vital organs, helps doctors decide on the best treatment.

Fluoroscopic Imaging

Used primarily to detect precancerous lesions or early cancers of the bile ducts or pancreas, HCI’s fluoroscopic imaging unit allows doctors to precisely view 3-D images inside bile ducts and the pancreas in real time. This means that doctors can watch the movement of these organs to detect obstructions or other irregularities. Pancreatic cancer is often asymptomatic until it is in advanced stages. Only a few hospitals in the United States are using this equipment in endoscopy, which may lead to earlier detection of cancers of the bile ducts and pancreas.

Other imaging equipment

In addition to the technologies outlined above, HCI has a stand-alone CT scanner, a stand-alone MRI, and endoscopic, ultrasound, bone density, and other imaging and diagnostic equipment. These machines are the most current models available. They are faster, quieter, provide clearer images, and use a lower X-ray dose than earlier models.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is, along with surgery and chemotherapy, an important cancer treatment. Modern radiation therapy is based on high definition imaging (CT or MRI) that allows precise tumor delineation and highly accurate delivery of radiation to targeted tissue. The goal of radiation therapy is to deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor while minimizing the radiation exposure of surrounding normal tissue. Radiation therapy may be used alone or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy, depending on the type and stage of cancer involved. While the number of treatments varies based on the stage and type of cancer, patients receiving radiation are ordinarily treated daily over a period of several weeks.

Stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy

Stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy are specialized forms of radiation therapy, designed to deliver precise radiation treatments to smaller (<4 inch) tumors. Both require a specially modified stereotactic linear accelerator, a machine that creates high energy X-rays.

• Stereotactic radiosurgery involves a single session of this high-dose radiation.
• Stereotactic radiotherapy is a series of treatment sessions over a prescribed period of time.

These treatment approaches are particularly important for patients with cancer of the brain, head, neck, or spine, where there is high risk of harming critical structures, or for those who are not candidates for traditional surgery because of tumor location or other illnesses. The radiation beam can be shaped to target even the smallest or most irregularly shaped tumor from any angle and tailored to deliver different doses within one tumor for the best therapeutic effect. HCI has the first linear accelerator in Utah dedicated to stereotactic radiosurgery.

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