SAINT MARY’S STUDY: PSA’S NORMALIZE IN JUST MONTHS WITH IMRT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., 2005 – In a study conducted at Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids, physicians found that early-stage prostate cancer patients who undergo a newer form of treatment called Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) could expect their PSA level to normalize in just a few months. The study was published in February proceedings at the Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla.,

Conducted with 55 patients between January 2002 and February 2003, the study sought to determine the expected time for PSA normalization with or without hormone therapy after IMRT. PSA, or Prostate Specific Antigen, is a common blood test marker used to evaluate the possible presence of prostate cancer in patients.

The outcome of the study arms Saint Mary’s physicians with vital information when providing answers to questions about treatment options for early stage prostate cancer patients, said Dr. Gilbert Padula, a co-author of the study and a radiation oncologist at The Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary’s.

“It is an important study,” Padula said. “With the results, I am more confident in telling my patients that their PSA after IMRT and without the use of hormones will normalize in less than a year. And with IMRT and hormones, their PSA will normalize even more quickly.”

The study, which will also be published in the proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference taking place in May, is also significant because of where it was conducted, Padula said.

“This type of study is usually done at a university or medical school, but we did it here at Saint Mary’s,” he said. “Although other hospitals offer IMRT, we are among very few that have conducted clinical research on IMRT.”

Saint Mary’s Health Care is committed to providing health care that is more complete and personally satisfying by providing the latest technology and most highly skilled physicians in a patient-centered environment. The network encompasses more than 2,500 employees, a 324-bed hospital, The Lacks Cancer Center, The Hauenstein Parkinson’s Center, the Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, 18 primary care physician offices, three fitness centers and six community outreach centers. Saint Mary’s is a member of Trinity Health, the country’s fourth-largest Catholic health care system.