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the medication directly to the tumor and reduce side effects." Patient s who need chemot herapy infusions receive them in the Outpatient Ca ncer Center — the sa me bui lding where the medical oncologists' offices are located. That streamlines the evalu- ation and treatment processes and allows the medica l oncolog ists to check on patients during treatment, if necessary. Dr. Keresztes praises the oncology nurses who serve as sources of knowledge and support for patients during treatment. "Our oncology nurses develop special relationships with patients," Dr. Keresztes says. "These nurses administer treatments and advise patients on how to cope with side effects. They also direct patients to community resources. Many of our nurses are involved with our support groups and community outreach programs." RADIATION OPTIONS: TARGETED TREATMENT FOR LUNG CANCER The Department of Radiation Oncology offers patients with lung cancer several options to receive radiotherapy. Highly fo c u s e d r a d i a t i on t h e r a p y, c a l l e d stereotactic body radiation t herapy (SBRT), has become an important type of treatment for early stage lung cancer and for isolated metastatic lung nod- ules. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (I M RT), volu met r ic modu lat ed a rc therapy ( V M AT) a nd intrabronchia l brachytherapy are additional procedures that also deliver extremely targeted radia- tion to the cancer. These treatments can be given as a primary modality, or combined with chemotherapy, immunotherapy or surgery, as determined by the multidis- ciplinary team. Stony Brook 's cut ting-edge SBRT program achieves high local control rates (over 90% success rate), and consists of no more than five sessions of outpatient treatments. SBRT is given by visualizing the target tumor under respiratory gating along the breathing cycle with the current gold standard four-dimensional imaging, which monitors tumor motion during treatment. These advanced noninvasive procedures are well tolerated without causing an increase in side effects. Casting a Wider Screening Net IN M A RCH 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised its recommendation for low-dose CT screening for lung cancer to include individuals 50–80 years old with a 20-pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit during the past 15 years. That is welcome news to Allison McLarty, MD, Director of the Lung Cancer Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, who believes it will allow the Lung Cancer Screening Program to find more malignant nodules. That could produce more candidates for curative lung surgery. "Only about 10% of patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer are surgical candidates at the time of diagnosis, and surgery is still the best means of curing patients," Dr. McLarty says. "Ninety percent of patients have disease that is advanced enough at the time of diagnosis that they're not surgical candidates. Once a patient has advanced lung cancer, the clock is ticking in terms of survival. If we can increase the number of patients who are diagnosed early, we can increase patient survival." In addition to increasing candidacy for surgery, such as lobectomy — the preferred form of lung cancer surgery — diagnosing lung cancer early may allow a surgeon to perform a smaller form of resection known as segmentectomy. This involves the removal of part of a lobe rather than an entire lobe, as in lobectomy. Segmentectomy preserves more lung tissue. Radiologists review the results of low-dose CT screenings performed as part of the Lung Cancer Screening Program. Patients who are found to have concerning findings are presented at the weekly thoracic tumor board meetings and receive expedited workup as needed. "Our program wholeheartedly embraces the new USPSTF guidelines," Dr. McLarty says. "We strongly believe this will translate to saved lives." Cardiothoracic and lung cancer surgeons Dr. McLarty and Henry J. Tannous, MD M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 0 21 0 9