Sutter Medical Center Lung and Thoracic Cancer Services

A diagnosis of lung cancer can be a frightening experience. At Sutter Cancer Centers, our lung and thoracic cancer specialists provide expert care to patients from testing and diagnosis through treatment and support.

We offer the full range of cancer care services, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as specialized services including:

• Lung Nodule Clinic — Our clinic offers diagnosis, treatment planning and care for patients with benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) masses found during cancer screenings.
• Mediastinoscopy — This diagnostic procedure inserts a lighted instrument in the space in the chest between the lungs, and tissue is taken from any unusual growth or lymph nodes.
• Video-Assisted Thorocoscopic (VAT) Surgery — This minimally invasive technique allows doctors to use a small incisions and a camera to see inside the chest cavity and remove masses close to the outside edges of the lung. VATS is also used during diagnosis to remove masses for testing.
• SuperDimension (SuperD) — Using electromagnetic navigation technology, our surgeons can reach lesions deep in the lungs with minimal trauma to the patient. Using the SuperD system, physicians can also biopsy the lymph nodes in the chest, staging the lung cancer without invasive surgical procedures.
• Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) — This minimally invasive procedure gives our surgery team real-time images in and around the lungs to identify difficult-to-reach tumors and obtain lymph node samples to see if the cancer has spread to other areas.
• Thermal Ablation Therapy — Using heat-generating probes inserted directly into malignant tissue, thermal ablation therapy offers localized treatment for primary and metastatic lung tumors.
• Sugarbaker Procedure — This innovative procedure combines surgery with heated chemotherapy agents to treat cancers within the abdominal cavity.

Diagnosis

Lung cancer specialists in the Sutter Health network use a variety of tools to diagnose the disease.

• Imaging — Your primary care physician may identify your cancer on a chest X-ray, then order a thoracic CT scan. A PET scan, which images the rapid metabolism associated with cancer using an injected radiopharmaceutical, or a new procedure called endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) may be ordered to assess whether disease has spread to other parts of your body. If esophageal cancer is suspected, your physician may call for a bronchoscopy or a barium swallow, an X-ray procedure involving a chalky drink that highlights any abnormalities in the surface of the esophagus.
• Biopsy — A physician will remove and study a small amount of cells from the tumor, the lining of the lung, a lymph node, or fluid that gathers in the lung or chest cavity and have them evaluated in a post-biopsy tumor typing. Doctors in the Sutter Health network use a variety of minimally invasive methods to remove the cells, including fine-needle biopsy, bronchoscopy, bronchial or esophageal endoscopic ultrasound, mediastinoscopy or mediastinotomy (which provides access to the lungs and lymph nodes), and thoracentesis. A surgical biopsy, or thoracoscopy, may be necessary in some cases.

Treating Lung and Other Thoracic Cancers

To achieve the best results in treating lung cancer, your doctors may use a combination of the following tools:

• Surgery — Thoracic surgeons in the Sutter Health network are skilled in partial and total lung removal, using state-of-the art techniques that include radiosurgery. Beyond traditional surgery, surgeons have a variety of minimally invasive options to treat tumors in and near the lungs, including the Sugarbaker Procedure for peritoneal mesothelioma patients. Using video-assisted thorocoscopic (VAT) surgery, your surgeon can remove a tumor or lung lobe through a small hole in the chest. If surgery is not an option, the tumor can be attacked using heat (radiofrequency ablation), cold (cryosurgery), or electricity (electrocoagulation), administered through a probe or needle.
• Medical Oncology — Your oncologist will select from a wide range of chemotherapy drugs as well as newer targeted therapies that have been developed to attack the unique ways that cancer cells and tumors grow. Biological therapies, or immunotherapies, may be used to aid your body’s immune system in fighting the disease.
• Radiation Therapy — High-energy radiation beams that destroy cancer cells can be shaped to the dimensions of your tumor (IMRT and 3-D conformal therapy) or placed directly in or near your tumor (brachytherapy).
• Pain Management and Palliative Care — Specialists in pain management and hospice care will see to your comfort.