New center for the treatment of sarcoma at Cedars-Sinai

Jun 1 2007

A new center for the treatment of sarcoma, a type of cancer that affects bone and soft tissue, will open on June 12 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute.

To mark the occasion, physicians and healthcare professionals will hold a free Sarcoma Awareness Day symposium that day for patients and their families, at which physicians will discuss treatment advances, surgical options, and coping strategies for the disease.

The Cedars-Sinai Sarcoma Center offers a multidisciplinary team of experts in surgery, oncology, pain management, radiation oncology, nursing, social work and orthopaedic oncology. Physicians involved in the program have pioneered new treatments for sarcoma that have been adopted by other medical centers, including limb preservation techniques, use of image-guided surgery to remove pelvic and spinal tumors, and laparoscopic tumor removal. The Sarcoma Center also offers clinical trials for patients seeking new medical and surgical treatments, including therapeutic drug trials, and provides second opinions to newly diagnosed patients.

“Cedars-Sinai has been a leader in diagnosing and treating sarcomas for years, with patients coming not just from throughout California, but from around the world,” said Charles Forscher, M.D., medical director of the Cedars-Sinai Sarcoma Center and a board certified oncologist. “As a designated center, we will be even better equipped to serve our patients and their families by offering a full spectrum of services and consultations in one location.”

Patients of the Sarcoma Center have access to the Outpatient Cancer Center infusion center, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for chemotherapy and other services. While chemotherapy for sarcoma is generally an inpatient treatment, the team at Cedars-Sinai is routinely able to offer it on an outpatient basis, which enables patients to spend more time at home with friends and family. The Outpatient Cancer Center facility has been recently redesigned to provide patients with a soothing, healing environment in which to receive treatment.

There are 60 different types of sarcoma, which are malignant tumors that develop in connective tissue such as fat, cartilage, muscle or bone. As a result of their connective tissue origins, sarcomas can occur anywhere in the body, although the extremities, trunk and abdomen are the most common sites. Approximately 8,500 new sarcoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, accounting for less than one percent of all cancers. Since it is both a rare and aggressive disease, patients benefit from receiving treatment at centers with experience in diagnosing and treating the disease.

The Sarcoma Awareness Day will be held on Tuesday, June 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, located in the North Tower, Lower Level Conference Room, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. New treatments, effective coping strategies and caring for the sarcoma patient are topics on the agenda, which also includes a physician panel discussion. The event is free and open to the public.