Physicians in Rush’s lung and thoracic oncology program apply the
most advanced technologies and techniques — including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, intensity-modulated and stereotactic radiation therapy and novel biologic therapies — to treat a full spectrum of thoracic cancers. At The Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Lung Cancer Clinic, a multidisciplinary team meets with patients to address conditions such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, chest sarcomas, thymomas and lung metastases.

2011 Highlights

Detecting early-stage lung cancer: Rush’s Lung Cancer Screening Program, led by pulmonologist Mark Yoder, MD, will continue to be a study site for the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program, which aims to recruit subjects at increased risk of developing lung cancer into a study of lung cancer screening using low-dose chest CT. The goal of this program is to detect lung cancer at an early stage using a protocol that is continuously optimized for both safety and effectiveness.

Lung nodule clinic opens in 2012: Rush is now home to a lung nodule clinic, which sees patients every Thursday afternoon. The clinic is led by pulmonary and critical care specialist Betty Tran, MD. The clinic aims to provide patients with lung nodules or concerns about lung cancer with a complete evaluation and plan with input from specialists in pulmonary medicine and critical care, thoracic surgery and radiology. It also offers quick access to other appropriate subspecialties for diagnosis and management. Patients seen in this clinic are discussed at a weekly nodule board meeting, comprising Tran, thoracic surgeon Edward Hong, MD, and diagnostic radiologist Palmi Shah, MD.

Biomarker research: In a study published in the Annals of  Thoracic Surgery, investigators from Rush reported that the genes IGFBP5 and IGFBP7 have value as biomarkers for identifying progression of non-small cell lung cancer and patient outcomes. Pathologist John S. Coon, MD, PhD, researchers Jeffrey A. Borgia, PhD, and Sanjib Basu, PhD, and thoracic surgeons William Warren, MD, Edward Hong, MD, Michael Liptay, MD, and medical oncologist Philip Bonomi, MD, were co-authors of the study.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy: Under the direction of radiation oncologist David Sher, MD, MPH, the thoracic oncology program has expanded its use of a new state-of-the-art targeted radiotherapy technique known as SBRT for localized lung cancer and lung metastases. This technique delivers very high doses of radiation to small volumes with only a few treatments, using technology that accounts for movement during respiration. It can spare normal lung tissue while delivering higher radiation doses than given with conventional treatment. SBRT is an alternative to surgery, and the program has opened clinical studies evaluating its role.

Multidisciplinary Team

Diagnostic radiologist:
Palmi Shah, MD

Medical oncologists:
Marta Batus, MD; Philip Bonomi, MD; Mary Jo Fidler, MD

Pathologist:
Mark Pool, MD

Pulmonary medicine and critical care specialists:
Robert Balk, MD; Richard Lenhardt, MD,MPH; Robert L. Rosen, MD; Michael Silver, MD; Betty Tran, MD, MS; Mark A. Yoder, MD

Radiation oncologist:
David Sher, MD, MPH

Thoracic surgeons:
Gary W. Chmielewski, MD; Edward Hong, MD; Michael Liptay, MD; William Warren, MD

Lung and Thoracic Tumor Conference

Thursdays, 10 to 11 a.m.
Janet Wolter, MD, Clinical and Educational Conference Room
1010 Professional Building

Clinical Trials

Physicians at Rush were among those to investigate the value of Tarceva in combination with the arthritis drug Celebrex to treat late-stage lung cancer and they are currently exploring the use of molecular profiles to determine which patients will respond best to specific treatment regimens. For more information about open clinical trials, visit www.rush.edu/cancerclinicaltrials. To enroll a patient in a clinical trial, call (312) 942-0600.

For more information about the lung and thoracic cancers program or to refer a patient for an initial visit or a second opinion, please call (312) CANCER-1 (226-2371).