Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/674833
THE INCIDENCE OF bra in t umors is on the rise. Or is it? According to the Centra l Bra in Tumor Reg istr y of the United States (CBTRUS), a n estimated 77,670 new cases of bra in a nd centra l ner vous system (CNS) tumors will be d ia g nosed i n t he Un ited St ates t h is yea r. Compa re that to the 18,500 new ca ses of bra in a nd other CNS tumors d i a g n o s e d i n 2 0 0 5 , a c c o r d i n g t o CBTRUS, a nd you'l l f ind a n increa se of a l most 420 percent over t he pa st 10 yea rs. However, those numbers a re deceiving, say Ma rk R . Hoeprich, MD, a nd Symeon Missios, MD. " Pa r t of t h a t i s b e c a u s e we h ave become much better at detecting tumors ... just because the imag ing has gotten better," says Dr. Missios. "A few yea rs a go we relied exclusively on CT. Now t he prefer red i m a g i n g moda l it y for diag nosing bra in tumor is MR I, which ha s better resolution. So we're seeing tumors we couldn't see before." "There's probably a component that 's related to increased longevity, as well," adds Dr. Hoeprich. "Cancer treatment is much better than it was 10 years ago, so people with cancer are surviving longer. In the past they would have succumbed to the ca ncer sooner a nd wouldn't have made it to the point where they would have developed these metastases." Drs. Hoeprich and Missios are board- cer tif ied neurosurgeons at Clevela nd Clinic A kron Genera l's Neuroscience I n s t it ut e, where t hey d i a g nose a nd t reat bra i n t u mors, st roke, complex spina l conditions a nd periphera l ner ve disorders using the most advanced tech- nolog y. They are the newest members of A kron Genera l's tea m of subspecia lt y fellowship-tra ined neurosurgeons. Dr. Missios joined the tea m ea rlier this year after completing his fellowship tra ining in neurosurg ica l oncolog y at Clevela nd Clinic. Dr. Hoeprich ca me on b oa r d t h r e e ye a r s a go a f t er h i s fellowship in epilepsy/functiona l neu- rosurger y was completed at Montrea l Neurolog ica l Institute a nd Hospita l. " We're a ll subspecia lized neurosur- geons with adva nced tra ining, a nd we have state-of-the-a r t technolog y that Advancing the Diagnosis and Treatment of Brain Tumors at Akron General BY ROBERT JANEK PHOTO © SMITHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH CANTON, OHIO Mark R. Hoeprich, MD, and Symeon Missios, MD, are shown in the radiosurgery procedure room. Stereotactic radiosurgery was introduced to Summit County by Akron General four years ago, when it installed its GammaKnife Perfexion system. 1 4F E A T U R E S T O R Y