Contact: Jill Byrd, (210) 450-5550

SAN ANTONIO (May 27, 2008) — South Texas now has a clinic solely dedicated to cancers of the nervous system. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio announced May 27 the opening of a multidisciplinary neuro-oncology clinic, the first of its kind in the region.

David Jimenez, M.D., chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, says the multidisciplinary approach gives patients a comprehensive treatment plan.
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Centralized, multidisciplinary approach provides team approach
The clinic was created to treat cancers of the central nervous system — the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The CTRC Neuro-Oncology Clinic provides a centralized, multidisciplinary approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment by bringing together a team of specialists in all the areas needed for optimal patient care: medical oncology, radiation oncology, neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, psychology and novel therapies.

“The multidisciplinary approach establishes an accurate diagnosis of the neurological malignancy, and ultimately the patient comes away with a comprehensive treatment plan for his or her cancer,” said David Jimenez, M.D., chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery in the UT Health Science Center School of Medicine. “The follow-up care with specialists enables us to provide proper management of neurological symptoms, complications and emotional aspects that come with the diagnosis of a neurological malignancy.”

Patients find new approach helpful
Fernando Alvarado, a patient at the CTRC Neuro-Oncology Clinic, was diagnosed in April with a glioblastoma brain tumor. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor and is being treated with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy.

“It is very helpful that I see all of my doctors at one place, and knowing that I am being treated by physicians and staff who specialize in brain cancer is very comforting,” Alvarado, 39, said. “I have received the best care, and I am going to do everything I can with a diagnosis of a highly aggressive tumor to stay positive and be here as long as I can for my wife and family.”

Optimizes collaboration between physicians, staff
According to Frank Giles, M.D., director of the CTRC’s Institute for Drug Development, this new clinic optimizes collaboration between physicians and staff, which allows CTRC to pool the expertise of leading experts in all of the fields relevant to a patient’s cancer.

Frank Giles, M.D., director of the CTRC’s Institute for Drug Development, notes that patients benefit from the high level of care only available through an NCI-designated cancer center.

Level of care only available at an NCI-designated cancer center
“The multidisciplinary clinic gives the patient instant access to research and treatment options at a level that is only available within a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center such as CTRC,” Dr. Giles said. “Tumors of the nervous system are an increasing focus in our comprehensive programs, which include the development of more targeted and safer therapies for patients with cancer.”

“CTRC’s multidisciplinary, disease-specific clinics are part of the standard upheld by the National Cancer Institute that sets NCI-designated cancer centers apart from the thousands of institutions that call themselves cancer centers nationwide,” said Tyler Curiel, M.D., executive director of the CTRC. “The NCI recognizes only a few centers that perform the level of patient care, research and prevention that make them an NCI-designated cancer center. The CTRC at the UT Health Science Center is one of only 63 NCI-designated cancer centers in the U.S. and one of only four in Texas.”

More than 20,000 will be diagnosed with nervous-system cancer this year
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 21,810 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord malignancy in 2008. Approximately 13,000 people will die from these malignant tumors each year. Common examples of primary brain tumors include glioblastoma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, oligoastrocytoma, meningioma, ependymoma, lymphoma and medulloblastoma.

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The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is among the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center, and is one of only four in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.