New Naples Prostate Center becomes first to offer RapidArc prostate cancer treatment

Dr. Michael Smith, a board certified radiation oncologist with Specialists in Urology’s Prostate Center, today treated the first three patients in Southwest Florida with RapidArc radiation for prostate cancer.
RapidArc is a form of radiation treatment that allows more of the radiation to be directed at the cancer and less radiation to reach healthy parts of the body. Specialists in Urology is the first and only center to offer this advanced technology to its patients in the Southwest Florida area at its new Prostate Center at 955 10th St. N. and U.S. 41 in Naples. In a recent study, the technique achieved better coverage of the target while reducing the toxic radiation dose to the normal anatomy of the patient by 43 percent. RapidArc is the most advanced application that can be executed on a linear accelerator. It differs from conventional therapy by treating the patient with a continuous 360 degree arc which serves to improve the uniformity of the dose distribution in the prostate gland. Each treatment takes only 90-120 seconds compared to 12-15 minutes with standard radiation therapy.
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Clinically available now for nine months in the U.S., RapidArc is anticipated to become the new standard for treating prostate cancer in patients who would have otherwise undergone radiation therapy using standard intensity modulated radiation therapy, radioactive seed implants, high dose rate brachytherapy and CyberKnife radiosurgery.
The Prostate Center is a new, state-of-the-art, 18,000-square-foot facility featuring RapidArc for prostate cancer which as part of Varian’s Trilogy linear accelerator can be used for any cancer in the body. Its function also includes radiosurgery for brain and spinal cord tumors. Although Dr. Smith will continue to treat all forms of cancer at the facility, the initial focus of the Prostate Center will be the treatment of prostate cancer, including the 40 or so men who are scheduled to begin therapy next month.
Dr. Smith joined Specialists in Urology this year with more than 20 years experience at such institutions as Indiana, Baylor, Houston and Vanderbilt universities where he was also on faculty. He has extensive experience in the treatment of breast and colon cancer as well as head, neck, brain and spinal cord tumors. Using cone beam CAT Scanning, also offered at the center, he is able to localize the radiation field with precision to a fraction of a millimeter.
Specialists in Urology will continue to offer da Vinci robotic prostatectomy at NCH and Physicians Regional Medical Center for patients requiring surgery as the most appropriate option with more than 1,100 cases to date since 2005.
For more information about Specialists in Urology, its physicians, facilities and locations go to specialistsinurology.com or call the office at 434-6300