Harnessing the Power of AI To Target Cancer
The Orlando Health Cancer Institute is tapping into the power of artificial intelligence to help our physicians identify and treat cancers more efficiently. With Ethos Therapy, we offer radiation therapy that can be rapidly molded to your body’s changing needs. When receiving radiation therapy, organs and healthy tissues can shift day to day, depending on your diet or other factors, and as your tumor shrinks. Ethos Therapy allows your doctor to account for these changes as they occur, guaranteeing a more precise treatment for a range of cancers, including various gastrointestinal, prostate, gynecologic, lung and bladder cancers.
Also using AI, THYNK Health, offers an advanced screening platform for lung cancer. The program helps our doctors identify early-stage lung cancer – when it is most treatable – through a careful daily analysis of all imaging studies done within the Orlando Health system. THYNK Health alerts our team whenever it identifies a patient who might benefit from a closer examination, including biopsies.
Supercharging Your Immune System with Cell Therapy
Your body’s immune system does an amazing job keeping you healthy. But sometimes it can be overpowered by disease. New technologies are allowing us to boost your immune system, giving it the reinforcements it needs to fight cancer. CAR T-cell therapy, we offer a novel approach to fighting blood cancers. Your T-cells are collected and genetically reengineered to produce antigen receptor proteins that will target your specific cancer. Once they are infused back into your body, those cells multiply and fight cancer cells throughout your body. Immunotherapy also offers us the ability to tailor medications to your unique needs. We can support your immune system with synthetic proteins or medicines that help your body release cells needed to counter the cancer cells.
Same Effective Care in Fewer Treatments
Advances in radiation therapy allow our doctors to offer next-level treatments faster than ever before. For various cancer types, including breast and prostate, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) combines high doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy to complete your treatment in just five brief sessions, instead of several weeks.
We are personalizing your treatment through tumor genetic testing – empowering you with clear information about therapies likely to benefit you and which ones you may not need. For many patients with breast cancer, this means safely avoiding chemotherapy and its side effects. We focus on targeted treatments designed to block the exact pathways your tumor uses to grow.
We also respect your time and lifestyle. Therapies are available as convenient injections at the infusion center, rather than intravenous. Some injections – such as leuprolide for breast cancer – can be administered at home by a nurse, or even by you or a caregiver after training rather than having to come back to the infusion center. With secure tracking through MyChart, we’re making your care smarter, more convenient and centered around you.
One-Time Treatment for Melanoma
Another example of cell therapy, this one-time treatment, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, we harvest some of your cancer-fighting T-cells and grow billions more in the lab in a specialized manufacturing system that makes them stronger. Once injected back into your body, they bolster your immune system’s efforts against the tumor. Orlando Health Cancer Institute was the first in the nation to use the treatment for a solid tumor.
Novel Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
Pancreatic cancer is notoriously challenging to treat because the disease is often not discovered until it reaches advanced stages. Orlando Health Cancer Institute is a pioneer in using robotic assistance for the Whipple procedure, an operation that removes the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, gall bladder and bile duct. This precision technology expands the ability of our surgeons to remove a wide range of pancreatic tumors. It may also promote faster recovery times, less blood loss and pain and a shorter hospital stay.
Powered by Proton Therapy
Proton therapy harnesses the power of the proton – a positively charged subatomic particle – to treat cancer. At Orlando Health Cancer Institute, our Center for Proton Therapy brings this superior cancer treatment to those who need it the most. It’s the most advanced type of radiation treatment for patients with tumors that are located near critical organs or highly sensitive areas, such as the spinal cord, retina, optic nerves, heart and brain. Children can also benefit greatly from this treatment, as they are more sensitive to the effects of radiation therapy. Historically, proton therapy was too expensive for widespread use. But advances in technology now make it more practical on a wider scale. Still, the Orlando Health Cancer Institute is one of only a few centers in the United States offering this treatment.
