Individualized Cancer Treatment at Tampa General Hospital

No two people are the same, therefore no two cancers are the same. As a result, the experienced cancer treatment team at Tampa General Hospital’s Cancer Institute heavily emphasizes an individualized and personalized approach to care. We thoroughly assess our patients and carefully identify and address any anomalies and selective mutations in the cancer itself. This ensures each patient receives the specific cancer therapies that will provide the best results for them and their unique condition.

Tampa General Hospital has earned “high performing” designation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report for 2023-24, meaning we are ranked among the top 10% of U.S. hospitals.

CANCER TREATMENT OPTIONS

TGH offers cancer treatment in a caring and compassionate environment and uses advanced technology to treat cancer in the most effective manner possible. Some of the main treatment options we offer include:

SURGICAL PROCEDURES

Through surgery, we’ll remove cancer from the body. In many instances, we can perform surgery using a minimally invasive approach that allows us to eliminate a tumor while reducing the impact of the procedure on the body. Robotic surgery often allows for enhanced precision. Some examples of procedures we perform include radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, and irreversible electroporation (IRE) with NanoKnife™.

CHEMOTHERAPY

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells growing in the body. At TGH, we provide chemotherapy infusions on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.

RADIATION THERAPY

High doses of radiation can destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. The radiation treatments we perform involve state-of-the-art technology and our radiation oncologists are experts in their field. Some treatments we perform include:

• Image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) that involves high-energy beams of radiation and precise imaging to narrowly focus the treatment area

• Stereotactic radiosurgery that enables us to non-invasively target cancer cells precisely while protecting healthy tissue.

IMMUNOTHERAPY

With immunotherapy cancer treatment, we use substances derived from living organisms to stimulate or suppress the immune system so the body can more easily fight cancer.

GENE THERAPY

Gene therapy allows us to better characterize an individual’s tumor. By identifying selective mutations in cancer cells, we can provide highly targeted treatments for patients based on the genetic makeup of their cancer. For example, if a patient with pancreatic cancer exhibits a selective mutation commonly found in another type of cancer, we can treat that patient with drugs that target the other type of cancer. This innovative approach to care is especially helpful when traditional treatment for a particular type of cancer has proven unsuccessful.

COMBINATIONS OF THERAPIES

While some patients only require one type of treatment, it is often necessary to target a tumor with a combination of treatments, for example, using stereotactic high-dose radiation in conjunction with targeted immunotherapy and chemotherapy. We thoroughly assess our patients and their particular forms of cancer, then recommend the combinations of treatments that will give them the best results.

Our patients appreciate having access to a broad range of options at TGH, as well as nutrition, psychology, pain management and other support services that are essential elements of a complete cancer treatment plan for all patients.

EXPERT CANCER SPECIALISTS ON YOUR TEAM

The world-class level of care provided at TGH wouldn’t be possible without the joint effort of multiple cancer treatment specialists. Our multidisciplinary team is made up of oncologists, surgeons and many other cancer specialists who are all dedicated to recommending, performing and monitoring the treatments that will help our patients the most.

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