Lung cancer is often diagnosed after it’s progressed to an advanced stage. That’s why it’s important to have a team of multidisciplinary doctors and clinicians with the expertise to tailor a treatment plan specific to your tumor type, stage, genomic markers and other needs.
Your team of lung cancer experts at City of Hope Atlanta collaborate daily, all under one roof, conducting a clinical review of your cancer to quickly develop a detailed treatment plan designed specifically for you and your needs and diagnosis.
Your care team will also communicate and coordinate with your doctor back home, providing seamless care before, during and after your treatment.
At the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Atlanta, our singular focus on lung cancer puts our medical oncologists, thoracic surgeon, pulmonologists and other experts at the leading edge of new and emerging treatments, including those listed below.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology: These advanced tools assist doctors in determining whether a lung nodule may be malignant and needs immediate attention. Early detection helps doctors develop treatment options that are better positioned to produce positive outcomes.
Advanced robotic surgery technology: This state-of-the-art approach makes it possible for our thoracic surgeon to perform minimally invasive procedures and lung-sparing surgical treatments. Your team may also include a reconstructive surgeon trained and experienced in repairing and reconstructing the chest wall and restoring physical function and appearance impacted by the cancer and/or surgery.
Precision medicine drugs: Immunotherapy, targeted therapy and other personalized treatments allow doctors to pursue treatment strategies that may offer better outcomes and fewer side effects than other treatments, such as chemotherapy.
Treatment options may include:
City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta lung cancer screening with a low-dose CT (LDCT) scan, a type of scan that creates detailed images of the lung, but with much less radiation than a regular CT scan. Screening is available to qualifying patients, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Should your lung cancer screening detect any anomalies or suspicious spots, your team of doctors and clinicians will help you understand the results and discuss diagnostic and potential treatment options with you.
Lung cancer survival outcomes improve dramatically with early detection. Our experts have the experience, training and technological tools to spot lung cancer early and, if necessary, get you started on a treatment plan in a matter of days.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) has recognized City of Hope Atlanta as a Lung Cancer Screening Center. This designation, considered the gold standard in medical imaging, is awarded to health care centers and hospitals that meet the strict protocols and requirements established by the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Committee.
ACR accreditation informs patients that a health care facility offers screening services that meet the highest standards in medical imaging safety and quality. The organization awards this designation after a review of a facility’s protocols, equipment, personnel and quality-assurance standards.
A fast and accurate diagnosis is a critical step toward developing a personalized treatment plan for your diagnosis. At the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Atlanta, our experts are trained in a variety of tools and technologies to determine the type of lung cancer, its stage and whether it’s spread to other tissues or organs.
Diagnostic tools include those listed below.
Imaging tests: X-rays, MRIs, PET/CT scans and other imaging tests help doctors look inside the lungs to determine the exact location and size of the tumor and whether it’s spread. These tools may also be used during treatment to determine whether the regimen is working or after treatment to look for signs of recurrent cancer.
Lab and blood tests: Lung biopsies, blood tests, advanced genomic testing and other tests allow doctors to look for abnormal cells or specific markers or gene mutations to help determine what may be driving the cancer’s growth and, when possible, identify targeted treatment options.
The experts at the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Atlanta are armed with an advanced diagnostic technology called Ion by Intuitive™ , a minimally invasive, robotic-assisted biopsy tool that helps doctors and obtain biopsies from hard-to-reach places in the lung.
With Ion’s proprietary software, doctors may be able to more accurately map a path to a lung nodule, even those on the periphery or outer branches of the lung. Ion’s ultra-thin catheter with fiber-optic camera is designed adjust to the twists and turns deep inside the lung to help doctors access nodules in most parts of the lung.
Once it’s reached its destination, the ion catheter deploys a needle designed to gather tissue samples of the lung nodule so a pathologist can examine them under a microscope. If the nodule is found to be cancerous, doctors will stage the disease during the procedure.
Ion is designed to help doctors safely and efficiently conduct lung biopsies on hard-to-reach nodules, which may allow them to diagnose lung cancer sooner, when more treatment options may be available.
We know the stress and uncertainty that comes with news that a CT scan or X-ray has revealed an abnormal spot on your lung—and why it’s critical to learn quickly if it’s benign or cancerous. Getting a fast, accurate diagnosis is essential to your peace of mind, no matter the result. It’s also key to developing a treatment plan if a cancer diagnosis is confirmed. The Lung Cancer Center team of cancer experts at City of Hope Atlanta work quickly to provide a diagnosis and, if necessary, a treatment plan that meets your needs. Our model of care makes communication and collaboration more efficient, allowing us to condense a process that often takes weeks into just a few days. If you learn you have cancer, a medical oncologist, a thoracic surgeon and, possibly, a radiation oncologist will recommend a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to your specific diagnosis and your individual needs.
Learn more about our four-day lung nodule diagnosis program in Atlanta.
Kristin Higgins, MD
Chief Clinical Officer, City of Hope Atlanta
Christopher Parks, MD
Interventional Pulmonologist, City of Hope Atlanta
Dhivya Prabhakar, MD
Medical Oncologist
Nitika Sharma, MD
Medical Oncologist and Hematologist, City of Hope Atlanta
Henry Krebs, MD
Interventional and Diagnostic Radiologist, City of Hope Atlanta
Jason Beland, MD
Chair, Department of Radiology, City of Hope Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix
Charles Fulp, MD
Interventional Radiologist, City of Hope Atlanta
Elesyia Outlaw-Evans, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Each care team at the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Atlanta is led by a medical oncologist and pathologists who are experienced and trained in standard-of-care and advanced tools to diagnose and stage the disease to better pinpoint the array of treatment options available to you.
Depending on your needs, your care team may also include a thoracic surgeon, radiation oncologist, pulmonologist, oncology nurses and supportive care clinicians, who work together to treat your disease and help you manage related side effects. The entire team works together with a “whole-person” focus, which is at the heart of our Lung Cancer Center's dedication to comprehensive, personalized care.
As part of our supportive care model designed to help you stay strong during treatment, your care team may recommend a number of evidence-based supportive therapies, such as:
Our Lung Cancer Center in Atlanta is dedicated to offering innovative, leading-edge treatment options. One way to do that is by offering carefully selected lung cancer clinical trials in areas like immunotherapy, interventional pulmonology and chemotherapy. Clinical trials are an essential testing ground for measuring the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments before they can win FDA approval. Trials may offer participants new options that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Find out about the various lung cancer trials underway at City of Hope.
Are clinical trials only available to patients who have exhausted other lung cancer treatment options?
Lung cancer patients may qualify to participate in a clinical trial at any stage of their treatment journey. Some patients may join a clinical trial when they first start treatment, in conjunction with standard therapy, on the chance it may offer improved outcomes. Other trials are designed for lung cancer patients who have not responded adequately to conventional treatments. Your Lung Cancer Center oncologist will discuss the options and risks, and explain the various protocols involved.
How does City of Hope select the trials it offers?
At City of Hope, our Lung Cancer Center experts never stop searching for innovative ways to treat lung cancer. Offering carefully selected clinical trials helps us fulfill that mission. The new generation of precision drugs is generally designed to deliver more targeted, less toxic therapies. Our Lung Cancer Center oncologists decide to participate as a clinical trial site only after careful consideration of the relative benefit to patients.
Who may benefit from lung cancer clinical trials?
The answer is based on a case-by-case analysis of each lung cancer patient. This is a time of rapid scientific advances in lung cancer treatment. New surgical techniques are being developed with a goal of attacking lung tumors while reducing the amount of trauma to healthy tissue. Meanwhile, a new generation of lung cancer therapies is designed to attack tumors that have specific genomic mutations. These new targeted treatments may be more effective and cause fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy. But they are so specialized that only a limited subset of lung cancer patients qualifies for participation. The immunotherapy drug nivolumab, for example, is approved for patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who have already tried platinum-based chemotherapy or EGFR- or ALK-targeted agents. Genomic tumor testing may determine whether you are a candidate. Other factors—such as your cancer mutations and stage, how you have responded to past treatments and other individual considerations—may also determine whether you qualify for specific trials
How do I find out whether a specific clinical trial may benefit me?
Your Lung Cancer Center oncologist and care team may recommend a trial depending on your individual needs and treatment goals. For general questions, contact an Atlanta Oncology Information Specialist at 888-841-9129.
