Starting off September with a bang, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center has purchased two next generation Mobetrons for Intra-Operative Electron Radiation Therapy (IOERT) that are to be located at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Parnassus Campus of the UCSF Medical Center.
According to the America’s Best Hospitals survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report, the UCSF Medical Center has ranked among the nation’s top 10 premier hospitals for ten consecutive years. The center is renowned for its innovative cancer treatment and is home to the world’s first Mobetron. This Mobetron has been used to treat hundreds of advanced and recurrent cancers, including recurrent head, neck and rectal cancer, mesothelioma, neuroblastoma, extremity and retroperitoneal sarcomas and pediatric cancers.
IOERT focuses radiation more precisely, avoiding the irradiation of healthy tissues. Two additional Mobetrons will increase the availability of this therapy for adult and pediatric cancer patients. For cancers that are often fatal, such as mesothelioma -a cancer of the lining of the chest, lungs and abdomen – IOERT generates fewer traumas in already frail patients, as the Mobetron enables visual pinpointing of the optimal site for radiation by finding the exposed tumor bed and delivering a concentrated beam of radiation to a specific depth during cancer surgery.
Mesothelioma treatment is aggressive and usually consists of some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, making IOERT ideal for mesothelioma patients. Clinical studies have shown that patients treated with IOERT often have fewer recurrences and increased survival, including those with asbestos cancer, for which there is no cure.