Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is cancer that begins in the lungs.  It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women, although the survival rate has improved slightly in recent years.  Cigarette smoking is the most common risk factor for lung cancer, with almost 90 percent of all lung cancers attributable to smoking or secondhand exposure to cigarette smoke.

The lung cancer experts at The James have dedicated their lives to supporting and caring for cancer patients and their families, and our specialized team approach provides the best cancer research and treatment.  Physicians and researchers at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute are continually seeking new answers to questions about lung cancer.  Recent research advancements include:

• An $8 million award from Ohio's Third Frontier program to launch a massive effort to better prevent, detect and treat lung cancer.  The award is expected to attract an additional $13.5 million from the project's commercial partners, helping to position Ohio as an international leader in innovative strategies and technologies in fighting the world's deadliest malignancy.  Read more...
• Studies led by Miguel Villalona, MD, that address the selection of systemic therapy according to molecular changes in tumors – an approach considered by some scientists to be the “holy grail” for advanced metastatic lung cancer.  Read more...
  
• Gregory Otterson, MD, is leading a multi-institutional study of inhalation chemotherapy for previously untreated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Surgical resection remains a mainstay of therapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer; however, multimodality therapy utilizing chemotherapy and radiation therapy has become an increasingly important part of all treatment plans. Combining innovative therapies, such as photodynamic therapy and radio frequency ablation, with other forms of intervention, such as chemotherapy, has enabled our team to offer surgery to a larger percentage of patients.  In fact, this includes patients who previously may have been considered unresectable.

The lung cancer team at The James has been at the forefront of initiatives to combine multiple treatment modalities to optimize a treatment plan for each patient.

• Under the direction of Patrick Ross, MD, PhD, the photodynamic program at Ohio State has grown to one of the leading centers in the country. Photodynamic therapy is used for curative, palliative and combined modality treatments in lung cancer. Ohio State continues to use this innovative technology in new and exciting ways.
• As a center with expertise in treating end-stage lung disease (lung volume reduction surgery and lung transplantation), the team at Ohio State has been able to treat lung cancer patients.  Many patients whose lung disease is so severe that they would have been excluded from surgery have been optimized by medical management and smoothly brought through lung resections.

Head & Neck Cancer

Most head and neck cancers begin in the mucosal surfaces in the mouth, nose and throat.  Included are cancers of the oral cavity, salivary glands, paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, and the lymph nodes in the upper part of the neck. Head and neck cancers are highly treatable and the cure rate is good if they are detected early.

The Head and Neck Oncology Program at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute is at the forefront of national efforts to improve the outcome of patients treated for head and neck malignancies.  The program comprises 14 members from nine departments in three colleges.

The focus of the Head and Neck Oncology Program is on the development and support of research and educational activities to improve the detection, prevention, rehabilitation and quality-of-life issues relating to head and neck cancers. In addition, one of the program's goals is to further develop translational, interdisciplinary research and educational programs. The program is one of the largest accruing institutions to local and national head and neck clinical trials.

Some of the Head and Neck Oncology Program's past research accomplishments include:

• Conducted some of the first studies in the United States demonstrating that certain head and neck cancers are responsive to chemotherapy.
• Participated in the leadership group which conducted a national trial demonstrating a dramatic improvement in cure rates using chemotherapy and radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer, the second most common malignancy in the world. This treatment approach is now the standard of care for the disease.
• Developed a new operation and treatment approach for tumors invading the anterior skull base which increases local tumor control and decreases the treatment morbidity.
• Developed a treatment approach for advanced stage resectable mouth and throat cancers which has dramatically improved the local disease control rates and offers hope for improved cure rates.
• Developed numerous new reconstructive surgical approaches for the throat, voice box, and windpipe.
• Used microarray technology to generate a tumor-specific gene expression profile for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, identifying gene-specific causative and prognostic biomarkers for the disease.

Gynecologic Cancer

gynecologic cancer is cancer originating in the female reproductive organs.  It includes cancer of the cervix, fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, vagina and vulva.  Approximately half of the 80,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year are uterine cancer. The risk of getting cancer increases with age, and inherited gene mutations or a family history of cancer may increase the risk. Knowledge is Power: Visit Clinical Cancer Genetics to learn more.

At Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, our treatment team is dedicated to providing the best gynecologic cancer research and treatment.  With research and treatment areas under one roof, our physicians and researchers are better able to facilitate the translation of research advances to patient care.  Recent research advancements include:

• Being among the first nationwide to be certified to perform minimally invasive robotic surgery on patients with gynecologic cancer. Jeffrey Fowler, MD, and David E. Cohn, MD, are routinely using robotic instrumention to perform  hysterectomies and lymph node dissections for treating uterine cancer. Dr. Fowler is also performing radical hysterectomies and lymph node dissections for patients with cervical cancer. Robotics has been used in heart and prostate surgeries for years, but now the federal Food and Drug Administration has approved the minimally invasive technique for treatment of certain gynecological disorders.
• A new NCI-supported clinical trial conducted at the OSUCCC –  James and other centers indicates that women with advanced ovarian cancer can benefit from treatment with two chemotherapy drugs, each delivered in a different way, following surgery. The treatment delivers one drug into a vein and the other drug directly into the abdomen. The treatment can potentially extend the overall survival of women with advanced ovarian cancer by about a year. This trial reinforces findings from seven previous studies.
• A study by physicians at the OSUCCC  –  James and other institutions affiliated with the Gynecology Oncology Group to change the way paclitaxel is administered, making it easier to take and tolerate, but tougher on tumors.  Paclitaxel is the drug most commonly used to treat ovarian cancer.  Larry J. Copeland, MD, is overseeing the study at The James.
• A vaccine designed to target ovarian cancer blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) has been designed and is currently being tested for its ability to decrease ovarian cancer growth in the laboratory by David E. Cohn, MD.  This potential vaccine against ovarian cancer could be applied to patients in phase I clinical trials following further preclinical study.  
• A five-year, $7.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to OSUCCC investigators to address cancer issues among underserved populations.  It has been used to form a Center for Population Health and Health Disparities initially focusing on understanding why high rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality are observed in Appalachian Ohio, a predominantly rural area in the southern and eastern parts of the state.  David E. Cohn, MD, is the co-investigator from the Division of GYN Oncology for this study at The James.
• A study suggesting that women with endometrial (uterine ) cancer should be screened for mutations for Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that carries a high risk for colon, uterine, ovarian and gastric cancers.

Gastrointestinal Cancer

 

Gastrointestinal Cancer                                 cancer of the digestive system) includes cancers of the esophagus, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon) and rectum.  Some form of gastrointestinal cancer is newly diagnosed in more than 250,000 patients annually in the United States. This amounts to about 20 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers every year.

At The James, we have gastrointestinal oncologists, surgeons, and other cancer experts, and our specialized team approach provides the best cancer research and treatment. With research and treatment areas under one roof, we are able to better facilitate translating research into world-class patient care.

Physicians and researchers at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute are continually seeking answers to questions about gastrointestinal cancer.  Examples of our recent work include the following:

• Scientists at the OSUCCC – James and other institutions have discovered and traced the source of a gene mutation that apparently was brought to the United States 13 generations ago and may be responsible for certain hereditary cancers in Americans – particularly hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HPCC). 
• Research developed at OSUCCC – James was the first in the world to look at the effects of adding a drug called etanercept (Enbrel®) to the current standard treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer, a drug called gemcitabine (Gemzar®).  Etanercept blocks the action of a pro-inflammatory cytokine called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which the researchers hope will improve the quality of life for patients with pancreatic cancer.
• Additional research shows that TNF may be linked to cachexia, or skeletal muscle wasting that affects many cancer patients with advanced disease, especially those with pancreatic cancer.  Scientists at the OSUCCC – James are working to understand how this happens and to devise anti-TNF therapies to stop it. 
• A recently published study by Ohio State researchers shows that a celecoxib derivative has potential value as a badly needed therapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer.

Many of our physicians and researchers are members of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline committees, which are instrumental in establishing guidelines that direct the care and treatment of cancer patients across the country.

Faculty in The James' Division of Medical Oncology are very active in developing unique research studies in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute as well as with other organizations, including industry.  Several members of the Division are engaged in basic science research involving gastrointestinal malignancies. In addition, physicians at The James participate in many cooperative studies that conduct research and develop innovative ways to treat and cure cancer.  This leaves almost every area and stage of GI cancers covered with a research protocol providing our patients with additional options for treatment of these difficult cancers.
The James' Division of General & Gastrointestinal Surgery is nationally recognized for its clinical care and research contributions in minimally invasive techniques, bariatric surgery and treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux conditions, esophageal cancer, wound care, hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer and neuroendocrine disorders of the pancreas. Diseases and cancer of the colon and rectum are specialty areas of our colorectal surgeons. All of our surgeons are board certified and all have completed fellowships. Each surgeon practices subspecialty surgery limited to each individual's area of expertise. The surgeons within the Division of  Gastrointestinal  Surgery are “high volume” providers assuring that their patients receive the best treatment by teams of providers with experience treating even the most unusual and complicated cases. While serving as a resource for health care throughout the region and nation, we offer the best care for each individual patient.
Studies have proven that clinical outcomes improve when patients are cared for at medical centers that treat a high volume of cases requiring advanced surgical and medical care, especially in cancers of the pancreas, esophagus and rectum.  The James is considered a high-volume institution providing excellent-quality surgical care.  
Gastrointestinal cancers constitute about 17 percent of the total cancer patient volume at The James. The risk of getting cancer increases with age, and inherited gene mutations or a family history of cancer may increase the risk. Knowledge is Power: Visit Clinical Cancer Genetics to learn more.

Endocrine Cancer

endocrine cancers are a mixed group of diseases in which cancer cells are found in tissues of the endocrine system, which includes the thyroid, adrenal, pancreas, parathyroid and pituitary glands.

More than 25,000 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the United States each year, but other types of endocrine cancer are rare.  Although tumors of other endocrine glands are not uncommon, they are almost always benign.  The difference between a cancer and a benign tumor (“adenoma”) is that cancers spread by invading neighboring or distant tissue, whereas benign tumors do not spread.  Because endocrine glands normally secrete hormones, tumors of these glands may also secret hormones, often in abnormal amounts.  However, the fact that a tumor secretes a hormone does not make it benign (or cancerous).  This feature is determined solely based on the capacity of the tumor to spread out of its normal position.

At the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, we have experts in this highly specialized field who have dedicated their lives to supporting and caring for cancer patients and their families. Our team approach provides the best cancer research and treatment, putting our physicians and researchers on the leading edge of advances in detecting and treating endocrine cancers.

For questions about endocrine cancers, please call The James Line – a free cancer information resource and physician referral service – at (614) 293-5066 or 1-800-293-5066 (outside Franklin County) or e-mail now.  The James Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with oncology nurses here to help you with your concerns about cancer from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. View The James' thyroid cancer fact sheet.

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the breast, is the most common type of cancer (other than skin cancer) among women.  Less than 1 percent of breast cancers occur in men. The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age, and inherited gene mutations or a family history of breast cancer may increase the risk.

At Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, our breast cancer experts deliver excellent patient care in a research context.  Our Comprehensive Breast Health Services (CBHS) facility in Dublin, Ohio, about 20 minutes from The James and the main Ohio State campus, evaluates and treats more than 500 breast cancer patients annually.

CBHS medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists are specialists in breast cancer.  CBHS Co-Directors Charles Shapiro, MD, and William Farrar, MD, are nationally recognized by their peers as being among the “Best Doctors in America,” “Top Doctors in America,” and the “Best Cancer Doctors in America.”

Physicians and researchers at the OSUCCC – James work together to make important discoveries that establish new approaches to breast cancer.  Examples include:

• William Carson, MD: Making standard therapies work better by enhancing the immune system IL-12, herceptin, paclitaxel
• Pravin Kaumaya, PhD: HER2 peptide vaccine
• Barbara Andersen, PhD: Stress and immunity project that evaluates the effect of stress on immune function in breast cancer survivors
• Electra Paskett, PhD, MsPH: Lymphedema and other survivorship issues in breast cancer survivors
• Charles Shapiro, MD: Osteoporosis in young women with breast cancer; incorporating biologic agents in combination with known breast cancer chemotherapy drugs (paclitaxel and bortezumab, paclitaxel and suramin, docetaxel and bevacizumab)
• Richard Love, MD: Effects of ovarian ablation in breast cancer

Preclinical studies include:

• Lisa Yee, MD: Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on HER-2 overexpressing breast cancers
• Jessie Au, PharmD, PhD: Effects of low-dose suramin on improving taxane anti-tumor activity
• Ching-Shih Chen, PhD: Making tamoxifen work in estrogen-receptor-negative patients
• Carlo Croce, MD: The importance of microRNAs in breast cancer

In addition, our Clinical Cancer Genetics Program as it applies to evaluating high-risk breast cancer patients is unique to Ohio State.  We are also actively developing the Spielman Breast Cancer Tissue Archive, representing more than 2,000 breast cancers. These will be used to develop a tissue microarray that will enable us to evaluate genetic and molecular changes of potential importance to breast cancer. The risk of getting cancer increases with age, and inherited gene mutations or a family history of cancer may increase the risk. Knowledge is Power: Visit Clinical Cancer Genetics to learn more.

This section of the Jamesline.com Web site will give you access to:

• Detailed information about breast cancer
• The breast cancer treatment team at The James
• Tests and treatments available at The James
• Support groups and classes
• Links to other cancer information Web sites
• Answers to frequently asked questions about breast cancer

If you have questions about breast cancer, please call The James Line – a free cancer information resource and physician referral service – at (614) 293-5066 or 1-800-293-5066 (outside Franklin County) or e-mail now.  The James Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is staffed by oncology nurses who are here to help you with your concerns about cancer weekdays from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. View The James' breast cancer fact sheet.

brain cancer

Brain cancer, or a primary brain tumor, is a cancer that begins in the tissues of the brain.  It rarely spreads to other parts of the body, although if not treated, it will grow and the symptoms will worsen over time.  Brain cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, but research has produced new, more effective treatment methods.  Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the most commonly used treatments.

Our multidisciplinary brain and spine neuro-oncology clinic at The James brings together a team of expert physicians to provide patients the benefit of the latest knowledge and techniques in related areas of specialization.

A fund established by the Ohio Supreme Court to further cancer research has provided support for the Dardinger Family Endowed Chair in Oncological Neurosurgery held by E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, and the Esther Dardinger Endowed Chair in Neuro-Oncology held by Herbert Newton, MD, as well as the opening of the Dardinger Neuro-Oncology Center at Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Co-directed by Chiocca and Newton, the Center is devoted to research and treatment of cancer affecting the central nervous system.  In addition, more than $1.5 million per year has been awarded by the National Institutes of Health to Dr. Chiocca and his research group to study the biology of this cancer and find new treatments.

With research and treatment areas under one roof at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, we are able to better facilitate translational research and the application of research advances to patient care.  For example:

• Patients whose brain tumors were once considered inoperable can now benefit from stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-invasive technique offered by The James that delivers high-dose radiation to a precisely targeted area while sparing healthy tissue. The procedure has low risk, is cost effective and requires only a short hospital stay.
• Gamma knife surgery is a stereotactic radiosurgery technique used to treat people with brain cancer and other neurological disorders. With this specialized radiation machine, 201 tiny, Cobalt60 radioactive sources precisely direct radiation beams, which all converge in one spot. Complex computer computations are carried out to create an individualized treatment plan for each patient and each tumor. The procedure has been used to treat nearly 80,000 individuals to date. The James is one of the only central Ohio facilities that offers gamma knife surgery.
• Through the use of intra-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a global positioning system (GPS) in the operating room, OSUCCC-James surgeons are able to remove brain tumors with greater efficiency and less risk. This technology enables the surgeons to operate while patients are anesthetized, but awake, which is especially effective in helping to preserve patients’ speech functions.
• Physicians at The James may also use Peacock Stereotactic Radiotherapy, a radiation treatment method that helps focus treatment precisely to a selected area. The Peacock system is able to hold the head very still, then guide and shape the radiation that destroys the tumor. The dose of radiation is carefully planned to be a safe amount in the right place. Aiming the radiation only at the tumor helps protect other important nerves and areas of the brain.
• New research at the OSUCCC-James shows than an oncolytic virus (a virus that kills cancer cells) can increase the survival of mice with an incurable human brain tumor. Chiocca says this was a preliminary study, but he believes oncolytic viruses offer a promising new strategy. His collaborators included Yoshinaga Saeki, MD, PhD, chief of the Dardinger Laboratory for Neuro-Oncology and Neurosciences, and post-doctoral fellow Hirokazu Kambara, PhD.
• New clinical trials using molecular and conventional forms of chemotherapy are under development and will use drugs such as erlotinib, sunitinib, AQ4N, AZD2171, and dose-intensive temozolomide. Under the direction of Herbert Newton, MD, and Robert Cavaliere, MD, these protocols will become an important clinical resource for brain tumor patients in Ohio and the upper Midwest.

The Dardinger Newsletter provides an annual update for Dardinger Neuro-Oncology Center patients, donors and staff about related news, events and research (including open and planned clinical trials)

Bone Cancer

 

 

Primary bone cancers (those that originate in the bone) represent less than 0.2 percent of all cancers. The most common types occur most frequently in children and adolescents and are especially rare in middle-aged adults.

The most common form of bone sarcoma in adults is chondrosarcoma. It usually occurs in adults between the sixth and eighth decades of life. This form of cancer is treated by surgery alone, as radiation therapy and chemotherapy are not effective for this entity. Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute has the only physician in central Ohio who is an expert in the management of chondrosarcoma.

The Division of Musculoskeletal Oncology at The James stands at the forefront of research and patient care in this rapidly changing field. Division Director Joel Mayerson, MD, is among the rare orthopaedic surgeons who specialize in musculoskeletal oncology. He leads a multidisciplinary team of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and pathologists focused on early detection and treatment. He also works with Children’s Hospital of Columbus to ensure the best possible treatment for young patients battling the disease.

A good example of the advances made by the musculoskeletal oncology team at The James is the surgery performed by Dr. Mayerson that saved a 10-year-old boy’s leg by replacing the femur with a newly designed expandable prosthesis. It was the first use in the United States of a total femur prosthesis that can be lengthened without surgery as the patient grows.

This section of the Jamesline.com Web site will give you access to:

Bladder Cancer

Bladder Cancer

Related Page

PDQ® - NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database
Full description of the NCI PDQ database.

General Cancer Resources

Coping with Cancer
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Educational Materials About Clinical Trials
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Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies used in addition to, or instead of, conventional cancer treatments.

Definition of bladder cancer: Cancer that forms in tissues of the bladder (the organ that stores urine). Most bladder cancers are transitional cell carcinomas (cancer that begins in cells that normally make up the inner lining of the bladder). Other types include squamous cell carcinoma (cancer that begins in thin, flat cells) and adenocarcinoma (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids). The cells that form squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma develop in the inner lining of the bladder as a result of chronic irritation and inflammation.

Estimated new cases and deaths from bladder cancer in the United States in 2009:

New cases: 70,980

Deaths: 14,330

See the online booklet What You Need To Know About™ Bladder Cancer to learn about bladder cancer symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and questions to ask the doctor.

Treatment
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Bladder Cancer Treatment
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Clinical Trials to Treat Bladder Cancer

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Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer

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Validation Study of Test to Detect Bladder Cancer

Interpreting Laboratory Test Results

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