Doctors at Innovative Cancer Institute In Miami Use New Radiosurgery System To Treat Tumor Encroaching On Patient's Spinal Cord

A 71-year-old man with a tumor encroaching on his spinal cord was among the first people to receive treatment using a new Edge™ radiosurgery system, recently installed at Innovative Cancer Institute in Miami. A new radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems

, the Edge offers doctors a fast, precise, non-invasive alternative to conventional surgery. "The Edge system is ideal for this kind of case, which requires tremendous precision," said Beatriz Amendola, MD, medical director at Innovative. "It enables us to deliver high doses very quickly, with great accuracy, helping us avoid adjacent critical structures. We were able to confidently treat the tumor, which was beginning to impinge on the patient's spinal cord, and get the patient back to normal life after just one treatment session. Without treatment, the spinal compression would have worsened, and most likely progressed to severe pain and paralysis." Innovative is the first treatment center in the Southeastern U.S., and one of only five sites nationwide, to have commenced treating patients using the new Edge system from Varian Medical Systems

. "We're excited to be among the earliest adopters of this exciting new technology," Dr. Amendola said. "Our plan is to use it to expand our radiosurgery practice, starting with primary and metastatic spinal tumors, followed by skull base and other head and neck lesions. We will also use the system to treat lung cancer; metastatic tumors in places like the liver, lung, and adrenal gland; and radio-resistant tumors such as melanoma and renal cell cancer."