FirstHealth Is World Leader in Lung Cancer Care Through Use of Robotic Technology

From ThePilot.com
June 4, 2020

Jane Sandor FirstHealth Carolinas beneficiary of clinical trial success

Dr. Michael Prichett and Jane Sandor

World-class advancements in health move fast in a community known for a slower pace. In early 2019, Pinehurst-based FirstHealth of the Carolinas was chosen as the nation’s first site to host clinical trials for a robotic technology that could diagnose lung cancer earlier, more accurately and less invasively than ever before. That turned into FirstHealth becoming North Carolina’s only provider of the procedure. Then FirstHealth was designated as the world’s first site to train other doctors on the technology. All from a community hospital in the Sandhills.

Jane and Andy Sandor have been married for 56 years and finish each other’s sentences.

“We moved here in 2001,” Andy starts “to be near a great hospital,” Jane finishes. That turned out to be a wise move when the unthinkable happened and nonsmoker Jane was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2020.

A new technology offered by FirstHealth enabled her to get an early diagnosis — resulting in a greater ability to treat and cure it. The Ion endoluminal robotic bronchoscopy platform is a robotic-assisted, catheter-based technology designed to access hard-to-reach areas of the body through natural openings, like the mouth. When applied in the lungs, it aims to enable early lung cancer diagnoses by accessing and sampling tissue from small nodules in difficult-to-reach areas.

Jane Sandor was the 100th patient at FirstHealth to be diagnosed using this groundbreaking technology.

Jane’s Story

In early 2020, Jane had the flu, followed by a pain in her side. Her primary care physician was suspicious of a kidney stone and ordered a computed-tomography scan (CT scan) of her abdomen. Jane’s scan indeed found a kidney stone — and more.

Abdomen scans often capture the lower portions of the lungs, and Jane’s scan showed a nodule in her lung. A subsequent CT scan of the entire chest revealed the need for a biopsy to see if it was lung cancer. Although she had never smoked, she previously lived in an area with high levels of radon gas, a known carcinogen.

Jane’s primary care physician referred Jane and Andy to Michael Pritchett, D.O., MPH, a pulmonary specialist at Pinehurst Medical Clinic and director of the Chest Center of the Carolinas at FirstHealth.

“My doctor mentioned that Pritchett has a special way to see and test for cancer with robots,” Jane says. “She said he’s also a good listener, and I appreciated that.”

Using the Ion endoluminal system, Pritchett and his team performed a robotic navigation bronchoscopy to reach, see and snip a sample of Jane’s lung nodule to test it.

To be sure, Pritchett performed the procedure — not a robot — but a robot assisted him to see deep inside the lung and reach the nodule to biopsy it.

Specifically, he inserted a catheter with a tiny camera and instruments into Jane’s mouth and steered the scope robotically all the way out to the nodule. He controlled the instruments’ movements through a console right beside Jane and saw all activity through a high-definition monitor.

“The catheter that the instruments and camera go through is only 3.5 millimeters wide and can easily fit into some of the smallest airways in the lung. More than 70 percent of lung cancer is in the farthest reaches of the lung, so this technology allows us to reach nodules we never could before — and without invasive tactics,” he says.

Before robotic navigation bronchoscopy, Pritchett says to test Jane’s lungs he would have either used traditional navigation bronchoscopy, which may not have reached as far in the lungs, or perhaps refer her to get a CT-guided needle biopsy in which “a needle is inserted from the outside, between the ribs and into the lungs. This has a high rate of lung collapse and we didn’t want her to go through that.”

Also, before this technology, Pritchett says there was no minimally invasive and reliable way to find and biopsy small lesions that often represent early-stage lung cancer — a most frustrating ordeal for both patients and physicians.

“Imagine a doctor telling you that through a CT scan he found a 10-millimeter nodule that is likely early cancer, but he has no way to accurately test it right now, so you’ll have to wait another three months until it gets bigger,” says Pritchett. “That’s absolutely excruciating. But now we don’t have to wait.”

Immediately after Jane’s biopsy — as in right in the operating room with Jane — Pritchett diagnosed her nodule as lung cancer in a protocol called “rapid on-site pathologic examination.”

Armed with that information, he conducted a second procedure, an endobronchial ultrasound, to see if the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

“Both of these procedures were completed on the same day under the same anesthesia,” says Pritchett.

After the short procedure, Jane reported a mild sore throat and minor cough, but that was the extent of her discomfort.

Also, the same day, Andy and Jane were able to learn Jane’s initial diagnosis—Stage 1 lung cancer that had not spread to the lymph nodes.

“I was able to share our findings with Jane and Andy that same day and get started on her next steps,” says Pritchett.

Becoming a World Leader

A tremendous amount of talent and work comprise the events leading to Jane being named FirstHealth’s 100th patient to receive a robotic navigation bronchoscopy using the Ion robotic system.

The Ion robot is produced by a California-based company called Intuitive. When the Ion’s development was at the stage of testing on patients, Intuitive contacted Pritchett.

“Based on the work that we have previously done in the lung cancer space and at the recommendation of a friend, Dr. Tom Gildea, with the Cleveland Clinic, FirstHealth caught the eye of Intuitive and they asked us to conduct clinical trials here,” Pritchett says.

Applying to be a clinical trial site is no easy task. However, bringing the latest technology to patients in the Sandhills is a top priority for FirstHealth and the team worked together to make it happen quickly. “FirstHealth’s amazing clinical trials team was able to gain approval of the protocol and finalize contracting issues in record time,” says Pritchett, resulting in FirstHealth being the nation’s first clinical trial site for the Ion.

Additional clinical trial sites included Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Mayo Clinic and Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Pritchett completed the first procedure in the U.S. on March 29, 2019.

“The clinical trial was also important because it helped us determine if we wanted to purchase the Ion system for FirstHealth after the trial ended — and we did,” says Pritchett.

To date, FirstHealth is the only health care system in North Carolina offering this technology.

Because FirstHealth got a head start on using the Ion, Pritchett has completed more robotic navigation bronchoscopy procedures using this system than anyone else in the world. As a result, Intuitive selected FirstHealth as the world’s first Ion mentor site.

Since August 2019, Pritchett has trained more than 50 physicians from 15 hospital systems across the nation.

“It is such an honor to work with these talented physicians to expand the use of this technology,” he says. “I’m eager to see the positive outcomes we can achieve together for our patients.”

Next Steps for Jane and Others

Jane’s left upper lobe was removed on April 2 by cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Peter Ellman, M.D., and she was back at home with Andy by April 5.

“A final pathology report proved her cancer was Stage 1, which suggests she has the best possible chance for a cure,” says Ellman. “The fact that Dr. Pritchett was able to reach and biopsy Jane’s nodule so it could be tested at such an early stage made all the difference.”

Pritchett says he and Ellman had many conversations about whether it was the right time to proceed with Jan’es surgery given the current pandemic.

“In the end, cancer doesn’t care about pandemics,” he says. “We at FirstHealth are dedicated to aggressively and safely treating our cancer patients, even in light of this pandemic. Additional safety precautions were taken for the patient as well as for staff. While elective procedures were placed on hold, we don’t consider treatment for an aggressive form of cancer to be elective; therefore, we decided the benefits outweighed the risks and chose to proceed.”

For the next 100 patients and beyond for whom Pritchett uses this technology, he says his goal is to have a fully integrated platform with Ion that works in harmony with additional advanced technologies owned by FirstHealth, including the daVinci robotic-assisted surgery system, also by Intuitive, and the Philips cone-beam CT system.

“Beyond the ability to scope and biopsy lung cancer with this device, in the near future we also expect to be able to treat lung cancer for patients who are not candidates for surgery,” Pritchett says.

FirstHealth is already at the front lines of such therapies, as one of his patients, Sanford resident Terri Cook, was the first American in a clinical trial in which a flexible probe is inserted through the mouth, routed directly to the cancerous lesion and “zapped” with microwave energy. Now more than a year after the procedure, Cook is doing well, and scans reveal no cancer.

FirstHealth’s early adoption of advanced technologies means that “residents of the Sandhills can stay right at home and receive the most advanced care possible,” says Pritchett. “In particular, with FirstHealth’s position at the forefront of lung cancer diagnosis worldwide, patients can receive more advanced care here than they could at a large, academic medical center.”

The Sandors agree.

“It’s scary for cancer to have it hit home, but I feel that I am in good hands here,” says Jane. “People say I should go to Duke or UNC-Chapel Hill, but I politely decline, saying we feel very confident in the doctors and capabilities here at FirstHealth. Yes, Duke and UNC have good doctors, but so do we.”

Sanford’s Cook is the First to Undergo Procedure to “Zap” Lung Cancer

From FirstHealth.org
Nov 20, 2019

Pinehurst patient first in NC to undergo clinical trial for lung cancer.

Terri Cook of Pinehurst, NC

PINEHURST—A routine physical in 2015 revealed lung cancer in non-smoker Terri Cook. A surgeon removed her upper right lobe and scans every six months for two years revealed no more cancer. Then in November 2017, the only time she went to a scan without her husband, the doctor reported “one, maybe two” concerning lesions on her lower right lobe. Cook held it together in front of her physician, but that brave face didn’t last when she told her husband.

Since Cook had a previous lobectomy, a second surgery was not an ideal situation, so her doctor offered two options: radiation or microwave ablation, the latter offered through a clinical trial to determine efficacy of a new type of lung cancer treatment. “When I heard ‘clinical trial’ I immediately thought ‘guinea pig,’” she said.

Her physician explained that colleague Michael Pritchett, D.O, MPH, pulmonary specialist at Pinehurst Medical Clinic and director of the Chest Center of the Carolinas, had just returned from the United Kingdom where he assisted with a bronchoscopy with microwave ablation, a procedure in which a flexible probe is inserted through the mouth, routed directly to the cancerous lesion and “zapped” with microwave energy. Dr. Pritchett had been selected as one of the few providers in the United States to offer this procedure through a clinical trial.

“My physician and I had developed a good rapport over the years, and he said if it were his wife, he would recommend the clinical trial,” said Cook. She and her husband acted on his recommendation and Dr. Pritchett performed the procedure on June 29, 2018.

Cook made national history that day in June, explaining, “I was the very first person in the United States to receive this procedure. Everyone was so excited and there were lots of people in the room watching.” She reported minimal discomfort after the procedure and after an overnight stay in the hospital, she recovered quickly at home.

The second of the concerning lesions initially reported also turned out to be cancerous, so Dr. Pritchett made a special request for Cook to be not only the first American to receive the procedure, but also the ninth. He was granted the second procedure for her and completed it on March 15, 2019. The United States received 20 slots for the clinical trial, and Cook was a good candidate to have it twice. The Mayo Clinic is the only other site for this trial.

“I feel wonderful now!” said the 64-year-old grandmother of two with a third on the way. “I can breathe!”

Cook is now almost a year and half out from her initial ablation, and the follow-up CT scans show no evidence of cancer.

Cook reported that everyone she worked with, including Dr. Pritchett and the entire staff at Reid Heart Center, was wonderful. “I felt truly cared for,” she said.

A substitute teacher from Sanford, Cook reflected on her participation in this clinical trial and reported, “I think it’s amazing what can be done now — and right in Pinehurst! Every time I teach in Pittsboro, my colleagues assume my medical care was in Chapel Hill. When I told them Pinehurst, they said, ‘really?’ and I replied, “Yes, really!”

 

Patients and their families seeking more information about clinical trials at FirstHealth of the Carolinas can visit https://www.firsthealth.org/reference/clinical-trials or talk with the patient’s physician.  Find cancer clinical trials in your community by visiting https://southeastclinicaloncology.org/clinical-trials/

 

South Florida Surgical Oncology, A 21st Century Oncology Practice, Performs Its First Robotic-Assisted Operation

FORT MYERS, Fla.July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — South Florida Surgical Oncology, a division of 21st Century Oncology, the largest integrated cancer care network in America, has recently completed its first advanced robotic gastrointestinal operation at Lee Memorial Hospital. A minimally invasive procedure, robotic surgery potentially shortens hospital stays, minimizes pain and helps patients recover faster.  

“Robotic technology provides great precision, allowing us to perform very fine movements and dissection,” said Dr. Bassan Allan, a surgical oncologist at South Florida Surgical Oncology. “We can do so much more using robotic technology as compared to conventional laparoscopy.”

Though robotic surgery has been in use for some time, few facilities offer it for advanced gastrointestinal cancer surgeries. South Florida Surgical Oncology is also among only a handful of practices using this groundbreaking technology for high-volume pancreatic surgery.

When performing robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon sits in a console next to the patient and controls the machine’s robotic arms. Images are projected in 3D high resolution.

Dr. Allan and his partner, Dr. Mark Bloomston, trained extensively in the usage of robotic technology. They can use the robotic-assisted technology for both benign and malignant diseases. Patients in the Southwest Florida community are excited to learn that South Florida Surgical Oncology now offers robotic-assisted surgery. What’s more, patients from other areas in Florida are also coming to Drs. Allan and Bloomston for treatment in this technique.

“Some patients are seeking it out, searching online for surgeons who perform robotic surgery,” Dr. Allan said. “It’s a great tool to have at our disposal.”

To learn more about Dr. Allan and Dr. Bloomston and the procedures they perform, visit their website at www.southfloridasurgicaloncology.com

About 21st Century Oncology
21st Century Oncology is the nation’s largest integrated cancer care network. Operating as one dream team in the crusade against cancer, the company carries out its mission with the mindset of “fighting for patients like an army and caring for them like a family.” 21st Century Oncology employs or is affiliated with 1,000 physicians globally to deliver the most advanced, integrated and compassionate cancer care in personal and convenient settings. Headquartered in Fort Myers, FL, 21st Century Oncology operates 164 treatment centers, including 127 centers located in 15 U.S. states. In addition, the company operates 37 centers located in seven countries in Latin America. For more information, please visit https://www.21co.com.