Thoracic Oncology

The Thoracic Oncology Center is a multidisciplinary program for patients with lung, esophageal, mediastinal, and chest wall tumors. Our pulmonary faculty and fellows are highly trained in preoperative assessment and bronchoscopic diagnosis of thoracic tumors. Important clinical and research efforts focus on the diagnosis, management and prevention of lung cancer. Through our combined state of the art research and clinical practices, the Boston University Center for Thoracic Oncology’s mission is to reduce lung cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

The Thoracic Oncology Center is a comprehensive program that provides a wide array of clinical and research services for lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. The multidisciplinary team is composed of physicians experienced in thoracic surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, chest radiology, pathology, and pulmonary medicine. The team meets weekly to review diagnostic and treatment options for individual patients. Patients are seen or reviewed by an entire team of physicians experienced in this field.

Boston Medical Center is accredited by the American College of Radiology as a Lung Cancer Screening Center. The high volume lung cancer screening program is aimed at detecting lung cancers at an early and potentially curable stage. The screening program is overseen by a multidisciplinary steering committee, led by pulmonology and radiology.

Boston Medical Center also performs a high volume of surgeries for thoracic malignancies including robotic and minimally invasive surgical techniques. Our surgeons work together with the medical and radiation oncologists to participate in multiple clinical trials and develop treatment plans at every stage of lung cancer. Together we also offer non-operative options, such as Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) for those patients with early cancers but at prohibitively high risk for surgical resection.

Boston Medical Center’s pulmonologists play an integral role at the Thoracic Oncology Center. Faculty and fellows help care for patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules in the Lung Nodule Clinic, and also help care for high-risk surgical candidates post-operatively through the consult service. Our dedicated pulmonologists along with senior pulmonary fellows join with the thoracic surgeons in multidisciplinary conference and clinic to provide preoperative assessment and aid in bronchoscopic diagnosis and staging of thoracic tumors.

Our pulmonologists and pulmonary fellows are at the forefront of basic, translational, and clinical research related to thoracic malignancies. At the research center, investigators are working to identify genes responsible for a predisposition to lung cancer so high risk patients can be targets for prevention and early detection. In our clinical research program, investigators are working towards better lung cancer prevention and early detection by improving approaches to smoking cessation and lung cancer screening. In addition, researchers and clinicians work together to improve lung cancer outcomes through implementing patient-centered programs (e.g. lung cancer screening and tobacco treatment center) and studying the implementation of these programs.

Weekly Multidisciplinary Thoracic Conference.

Patient’s clinical history, pathology, imaging and diagnostic studies are reviewed weekly by the multidisciplinary team to coordinate evaluation and treatment strategies.

Lung Nodule Clinic.

Our pulmonologists lead a Lung Nodule Clinic that provides comprehensive care to patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules.

Weekly Multidisciplinary Clinic.

Our pulmonologists work closely with the thoracic surgeons in a combined clinic assessing patients with higher risk pulmonary nodules, aiding in diagnosis, and preparing patients for treatment.

Comprehensive Imaging and Diagnostic Services including PET imaging, chest CT and MRI.

Diagnostic Services include fine needle aspiration, interventional bronchoscopy (bronchoscopic biopsies and fine needle aspiration), EBUS, EUS, mediastinoscopy, and thoracoscopy.

Comprehensive approaches to treat lung tumors.

Our pulmonologists work closely with thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists to identify the best lung cancer treatment for each individual patient. Our team offers treatment such as Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients who are unable to have an operation for their lung cancer because of medical co-morbidities. For patients with certain types of lung cancer mutations, services include targeted therapy to treat the cancer cells with that mutation.

Modalities to palliate patients with malignant airway obstruction or locally bleeding tumors.

Endobronchial therapy offered include Stent Placement, Thermal Ablative Therapy, and Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for obstructing lung and esophageal cancers. Additionally, we offer endobronchial ablation, dilation, or resection for benign airway stenosis.

 

Faculty with clinical and/or research specialty in Thoracic Oncology: 

Pulmonary Medicine

Thoracic Surgery

Radiology

Medical Oncology

Radiation Oncology

Pathology

Gastroenterology

 

For Patients:

To schedule a clinic visit or refer a patient to the Thoracic Oncology Clinic, please contact us at:

 

Call: 617.638.5600

Fax: 617.638.7382

 

Boston Medical Center

Center for Thoracic Oncology

Moakley Building

830 Harrison Avenue, 3rd Floor

Boston, MA 02118

 

 

To schedule a clinic visit or refer a patient to the Lung Nodule Clinic or Tobacco Treatment Center, please contact us at:

 

Call: 617.638.7480

Fax: 617.638.7486

 

Boston Medical Center

Pulmonary Clinic

Shapiro Building

725 Albany Street, Suite 9B

Boston, MA 02118

 

Link to: https://www.bmc.org/programs/tobacco-treatment-center