MemorialCare Cancer Institute Brings Innovative Cancer Care to South Orange County

By Linda Chan, M.D., medical director, Radiation Oncology, MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Saddleback Medical Center

At the MemorialCare Cancer Institute, research is woven into our patients’ treatment plans—providing a crucial role in advancing treatment and improving patient outcomes. MemorialCare has an advanced research program where principal investigators, who are often physicians, lead rigorous scientific investigations and treatments, bringing the best clinical outcome and experience to Orange County residents.

Recently, we have launched a new research trial that focuses on helping men with metastatic prostate cancer. It started with a very simple idea: personalize the treatment by allowing the unique biology of each patient’s individual tumor, and that tumor’s response during treatment, to guide the course of radiation therapy. This could only be accomplished with two advances in technology: an enhanced ability to see inside the biologic activity of the tumor, and a more precise method to target the cancer cells. The enhanced ability to see inside the tumor was achieved using PSMA-PET scan, a type of imaging that focuses specifically on prostate cancer cells. Treatment is called stereotactic radiosurgery, a specialized technique of highly focused radiation beams like an “invisible blade” that delivers precise and targeted treatment to tumors.

By adjusting the stereotactic radiosurgery plan to how the patient’s specific tumor is responding midway to treatment, it can allow the physician to optimize treatment outcomes and minimize potential side e ects. Monitoring the tumor’s response to radiation helps physicians assess whether the current approach is e ective. If the tumor is shrinking and responding well, it indicates that the radiation is having the desired e ect.

In such cases, treatment can proceed as planned, with confidence that the chosen regimen is appropriate. On the other hand, if the tumor is not responding as expected, adjustments can be made mid-treatment to enhance e cacy.

This individualized response assessment may also provide prognostic information about long-term outcomes. Patients often ask for a “crystal ball” to look into the future, and this trial may help give us this prognostic information based on the robustness of tumor response.

MemorialCare is unique because we have comprehensive cancer programs, with leading research and cutting edge technology, but we also o er personalized medicine that works hand-in-hand with your community physician. We ensure that each patient is cared for and supported, and we focus on treating the “whole” you where mental and physical well-being are blended into treatment. Our team looks at your nutrition, mobility, and comfort to make sure your experience is the best one possible.

With more than 300 research trials open, MemorialCare is moving clinical research into clinical realities for some of our sickest patients. MemorialCare provides cutting-edge care with compassion.

Want to learn more? Visit memorialcare.org/cancer.