Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta has added the state’s first electron arc cancer treatment capability and the state’s first commercially available hypothermia cancer treatment system to its Radiation Therapy Department as an expansion of the hospital’s oncology program.

The new electron arc treatment capability was added to Saint Joseph’s existing linear accelerator equipment used for cancer treatment and this addition represents only the second such upgrade of an existing linear accelerator in the United States.

Electron arc therapy allows more optimal radiation therapy treatment to large, curved surfaces of the body such as the breast, chest wall, and ribs. This new technology will provide maximum protection for normal organs beneath the chest such as the heart and the lungs, and permits the electron beam to move over the curved surface while simultaneously delivering a more uniform treatment dose across the affected area, according to Dr. Arthur Kirchner, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Saint Joseph’s. In the past, such cases required the use of radiation treatment, which did not deliver an ideal dose distribution to the identified cancerous area; it affected more of the surrounding, non-cancerous tissue than this newer method of treatment.

In addition to the new electron arc capability Saint Joseph’s also has installed the first commercially available hypothermia cancer treatment system in Georgia. Hypothermia (which means elevated temperature) has a long history of anti-cancer properties dating back to the 1800’s where tumors showed spontaneous regression in patients with high fevers, according to Dr. Kirchner.

The technology to safely apply hypothermia treatment in a clinical setting through the use of microwaves has only recently been made available with the development of a new system that uses a computer to assist the physician in reading and controlling the accurate dose of heat energy to the tissue or tumor. This heat, Dr. Kirchner said, enhances the destruction of cancer cells when used in combination with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Because certain aspects of the hypothermia cancer treatment system are still considered in the research stage, the Food and Drug Administration must approve facilities using the system, he added.

“There are about 30 university-sponsored medical centers in the United States approved by the FDA to use this technology and Saint Joseph’s was one of the several non-university facilities approved to use the system.”