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New cancer treatments help hospitals compete regionally

Hospital now offers almost complete liver care

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 12:43 AM Saturday, July 31, 2010

DAYTON — Miami Valley Hospital in April began offering a liver cancer treatment that targets tumors with millions of miniscule resin beads loaded with high-dose radiation.

Kettering Medical Center, meanwhile, has invested $3 million in technology to keep radiation from missing its intended target due to a patient’s breathing, which shifts organs about.

Expanding treatment options helps local hospitals shore up market share against those in larger Ohio cities, hospital officials say. A wider range of treatments close to home also is convenient and often more affordable for patients and their families; long-term travel can be expensive.

Patients seeking the Miami Valley treatment previously had to go to Cincinnati, Columbus or Indianapolis. The hospital expects to do 24 treatments annually. The forthcoming Kettering Medical Center treatment has been available in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. In two months, the hospital expects to begin doing 100 minimally invasive body radiosurgeries annually.

Thanks to the expanding treatment options, “patients in Dayton are getting world-class care,” said Dr. Douglas Einstein, KMC’s medical director of radiation oncology.

While giving hope to cancer patients, the new treatments add considerable cost to the healthcare system, though the patient typically pays a small fraction of the price out of pocket, if any.

The radioactive beads alone used during Miami Valley’s liver cancer treatment cost $14,000.

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