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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SPECIAL SECTION: CANCER +++ +++ Akron General Opens Gamma Knife Center P By Robert Janek ATIENTS NO LONGER need to travel to Cleveland or Columbus to gain access to stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Akron General's Gamma Knife Center is now open. In August, physicians at the new Gamma Knife center — one of only five in Ohio — began treating patients with SRS. Despite its name, SRS is not surgery. It is a form of radiation therapy that is utilized as an alternative to brain surgery in selected patients who have benign or malignant tumors of the brain or other cranial disorders. With SRS, high- intensity beams of gamma radiation are focused on targeted areas to kill cancer Mitchel L. Fromm, MD, chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology at Akron General Medical Center, is pleased to offer Gamma Knife therapy locally at Akron General's new Gamma Knife Center. cells and shrink tumors. Each individual beam is of relatively low intensity but the radiation is highly concentrated where all beams converge on the tumor, so damage to healthy surrounding brain tissue is avoided. "The principle of radiation therapy is to get as much radiation dose as possible to the target area and as little dose as pos- sible to the critical normal structures," explains Mitchel L. Fromm, MD, chair- man, Department of Radiation Oncology at Akron General Medical Center. "The Leksel Gamma Knife Perfexion, which is the latest generation Gamma Knife, does that best. It's also the most efficient for planning and treating complex lesions and multiple lesions in the brain. And that's why we selected it for our Gamma Knife Center." Specifically designed for radiosurgery of the head, the Perfexion system's integrated treatment planning software facilitates creation of even the most complex plans (e.g., a donut-shaped dose distribution) by configuring composite shots that avoid overexposure to critical structures, such as the brain stem or optic nerve. Currently, physicians at Akron General's Gamma Knife Center are using SRS for selected patients with + malignant and benign brain tumors, + metastatic tumors, + acoustic neuromas, + pituitary tumors, and + vascular malformations. According to neurosurgeon Sarel J. Vorster, MD, medical director of 14 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD NEWS s MDNEWS.COM s NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 PHOTO COURTESY OF AKRON GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER