August 4, 2000FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deb Pettibone, 716-845-8593
RPCI OFFERS RADIO FREQUENCY ABLATION TO TREAT TUMORS, ONLY FACILITY IN WESTERN NEW YORK
BUFFALO, NY - Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is offering an exciting treatment option for patients with inoperable tumors. Radio frequency ablation (RFA), first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last December as a treatment for benign tumors, was approved by the FDA in June for treatment of cancerous lesions. RPCI is the only facility in Western New York to offer RFA, which may also be used in special cases to treat esophageal, gastrointestinal (including liver), testicular, ovarian, neuroendocrine and breast cancers.
RFA uses high-energy radio frequency sound waves to "vibrate" tumor cells. When the probe is placed into the tumor, the energy is limited to the immediate region, and does not affect normal tissues surrounding the lesion. To maximize this treatment option, RPCI is upgrading its RFA to a StarBurst XL with a RF Generator 1500.
"RPCI is the only local facility to have RFA technology and we are excited by the opportunities offered to our patients by this equipment," said John Gibbs, MD, Department of Surgery at RPCI and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Candidates for this procedure must be in generally good health and have tumors that can not be removed through conventional surgical means. In some cases, RFA may be offered as an outpatient procedure, with patients able to return home on the same day as their procedure.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Western New York.
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