RapidArc Radiation Therapy

A leader in cutting-edge technology, the Department of Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine launched as one of the earliest of its kind in the nation and was the first hospital in the New York Metropolitan region to employ IGRT. The Department continued its pioneering efforts in the fall of 2008 as one of few hospitals across the country to acquire Varian Medical Systems' revolutionary RapidArc radiotherapy technology and began treating cancer patients in March 2009 at the Weiler Division.

"It's the most sophisticated technology we've ever had for cancer," Department Chairman Shalom Kalnicki, MD, FACRO, states. "Targeting is more precise and outcomes are already demonstrating a 25% improvement in quality of life." Because the FDA only approved RapidArc technology in January 2009, survival rate outcomes are at the gestational stage of research, but Dr. Kalnicki is confident in forecasting improved results. "With more precision of radiation targeted to the tumor, more possibilities to optimize treatment and a reduction in damage to surrounding healthy tissue, survival rates are projected to increase."

Montefiore upgraded two of its Trilogy linear accelerators with the RapidArc On-Board Imager kV imaging system. Additionally, Dr. Kalnicki established a clinical partnership with Varian Medical Systems more than a decade ago and adopted RapidArc research as part of the Department's agenda. "We have barely scratched the surface of this tool," he notes, adding that patient care is unsurpassed at Montefiore and his team continuously studies cases and measures outcomes to identify more opportunities for deployment and areas of potential improvement.

About Our Team and Groundbreaking Radiation Oncology Research

RapidArc is an extremely valuable advancement but one that requires a highly specialized team to maximize its use. The Department is comprised of 20 physicians, physicists and technicians dedicated to advancing radiation therapy. Dr. Kalnicki is internationally recognized for his expertise in IMRT, frameless body stereotactic radiosurgery and prostate and breast cancers. A recipient of several awards, he's authored numerous articles and abstracts and is actively engaged in multiple research projects.

One of the pioneers of seed implantation and IGRT, Dr. William Bodner leads the RapidArc team and has more than 15 years experience dedicated to prostate cancer. The physics team is led by Director of Medical Physics, Dennis Mah, PhD, who is widely known for his motion management and tumor positioning research and expertise. Linda Hong, PhD, is our Deputy Director of Medical Physics with vast experience in computer algorithms and proton beam therapy for optimizing radiation planning. She leads our Stereotactic radiation physics program and our physics clinical trials. Her research concentrates on devising innovative radiation treatment-planning algorithms and procedures.

Basic and translational research are the core of our team's collaborative efforts. Led by Chandan Guha, MD, PhD, the Department assembled a team of researchers and post-doctoral fellows who excel in immunomodulation in cancer therapies, hepatocellular regeneration after radiation injury and interaction of targeted therapies and radiation. Additionally, the Department has a research coordinator and data coordinator with extensive experience in clinical trial management, and we added laboratory space in Einstein's Golding Building to expand our scope of research endeavors.

Together, we are pioneering efforts to deploy the RapidArc technology for other cancers, including head and neck, pelvic malignancies and brain. Plans are also underway to expand the RapidArc service to our Moses Division soon.

Unparalleled Care

"Our personal experience with cancer at Montefiore is our patients' experience," Dr. Kalnicki explains, noting that every patient is treated with the utmost care, understanding and respect. This exceptional patient care is what strongly distinguishes Montefiore from other facilities near and far, which may also offer RapidArc technology. Specifically:

• The process of quality assurance, technology calibration, safety and outcome measurement is extremely rigorous.
• Our multidisciplinary approach enables patients to be seen by a team of experts all at once to ask questions about treatment options. This coordinated care not only benefits patients for convenience of scheduling, but also the expertise of an entire team who discuss and analyze every treatment plan possible.
• Patients are seen within one or two days of contacting us, unless he or she prefers to delay. Our expert scheduling system navigators offer rapid response - informing patients when treatment will start and scheduling activities (i.e. blood tests, X-rays, etc.) within a perfectly coordinated time frame with no delays.
• Nurse practitioners and physicians offer continuum of care, catering to patients' needs every day of treatment.
• Our comprehensive complimentary and alternative therapy programs is a holistic approach, offering guidance with nutrition, diet, healthy living at home, yoga and relaxation, distress management sessions (painting, crocheting, writing, etc.), and transportation.
• Survivorship programs follow patients after treatment to avoid the long-term effects of therapy. We do everything possible to ensure the cancer does not return.

Our focus is always on the patient and the pursuit of radiation therapy improvement through clinical expertise, research and the employment of the most advanced technology available. We are a humble team who ask each other every day:  ‘What can we do better?'