Orlando Health Cancer Institute Rolls Out New Tools in the Fight Against Prostate Cancer

Orlando, FL (January 31, 2022) – Oncologists at Orlando Health Cancer Institute are deploying two new tools in the fight against prostate cancer.

The first, called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), is a new radioactive tracer drug designed to make locating lesions easier in advanced prostate cancer cases. The drug is injected into patients just prior to PET imaging and works by attaching itself to prostate cancer cells. The PET scan detects the high levels of PSMA, allowing oncologists to pinpoint exact locations of cancerous lesions that may have metastasized throughout the pelvic region and other parts of body.

“The current standard of care to detect advanced prostate cancer can often miss lesions that have spread beyond the prostate,” says Daniel Landau, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist at Orlando Health Cancer Institute. “PSMA PET imaging gives us the ability to catch those undetected lesions growing outside the prostate so that we can offer our patients the best treatment options and potentially improve outcomes.”

PSMA PET imaging is recommended for patients initially diagnosed with prostate cancer that has a higher risk of spreading to other parts of the body and those who experience a recurrence of the disease after previous treatment with radiation or prostatectomy.

In addition to PSMA, Orlando Health Cancer Institute is introducing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) as a new option for the treatment of prostate cancer.

SBRT is an advanced form of radiation therapy utilizing much larger doses of radiation per day compared to conventional treatment, which can take up to nine weeks of daily treatment for prostate cancer. SBRT compresses that timeline to just five days, and when combined with a hydrogel spacer, like SpaceOAR, it can offer greater protection to the rectum from radiation injury.

“We know that prostate cancer responds well to radiation treatment and now SBRT allows us to hone that technology to the point where we can offer patients a proven treatment in a shorter amount of time and without harming surrounding tissue,” says Akash Nanda, MD, director of urologic and hematologic radiation oncology at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute. “We’re very excited to add SBRT to the assortment of tools we have to treat prostate cancer at Orlando Health Cancer Institute.”

Margo Shoup, MD, president of Orlando Health Cancer Institute, adds that “the expertise from Dr. Nanda in prostate radiation and Dr. Landau in urologic cancers along with PSMA, SBRT and many other advancements in oncologic medicine clearly set us apart as a leader in cancer treatment.”

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $7.6 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in the St. Petersburg region. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health has pioneered life-changing medical research and its Graduate Medical Education program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows. The 3,200-bed system includes 16 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer and heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care. Nearly 4,500 physicians, representing more than 90 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 23,000 team members. In FY21, Orlando Health served nearly 160,000 inpatients and nearly 3.6 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided approximately $648 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.