THE DONOWAY CENTER NEW HOPE FOR ADVANCED PANCREATIC AND LIVER CANCER PATIENTS Patient’s once diagnosed with locally advanced Pancreatic and Liver Cancers were given little hope and often offered limited treatment options all with certain short life expectancies despite the treatment they were receiving. However, a new procedure called Irreversible Electroporation, also known as IRE or NANO-KNIFE for short, has changed all that. Patients are seeing a doubling and tripling of their life expectancies based on recently published reports. Though currently used in patients with known locally advanced disease it has now found its place in the operating room and used when patients are “unexpectedly” found to have more advanced disease than pre-operative imaging shows.
Robert B. Donoway, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.S.S.O. Diplomate American Board of Surgery Diplomate, Society of Surgical Oncology Former Medical Director Memorial Cancer Center Medical Director of Institute for Breast Cancer Prevention
Dr. Robert Donoway, a surgical oncologist trained at SloanKettering, is the only surgeon performing these procedures. During the procedure, in the operating room, after it has been determined that the patient’s tumor is non-resectable, fine needle probes are placed through the tumor using ultrasound guidance to ensure there is no injury to critical structures such as the Bile Ducts and Portal Vein. High voltage current up to 3000 volts is delivered through the probes in 90 microsecond pulses synchronized with the patient’s heart rhythm to avoid any cardiac problems. The procedure lasts between 1 & 2 hours using imaging to follow the ablative process. After the procedure is completed the probes are removed and the patient is taken to ICU step down for a 24-hour observation period. Most patients are discharged in 2 or 3 days following surgery and because there is no major surgery to recover from they are able to start postoperative neo-adjuvant type chemotherapy and radiation sooner. After 3 to 6 months of combination treatment patients are re-evaluated and restaged. A number have been converted to Resection candidates, which is still deemed the standard of care. Preliminary results have been very encouraging and have more than doubled many patients' life expectancy. Clinical trials are ongoing to use new novel agents including monoclonal antibodies and vaccines as the next line of treatment in this highly selected & heavily pre-treated group. Dr. Donoway is the only surgeon performing this procedure in Florida. For more information about Dr. Donoway visit www.AtlasOncology.com
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