UH News

CLEVELAND – Patients with gynecologic cancer have new hope in a novel technology now offered at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center.  A team of cancer specialists, led by Robert DeBernardo, MD, is among the first in the nation to launch a dedicated program using Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat ovarian, endometrial and select other cancers. 

Performed immediately following surgery, HIPEC delivers heated chemotherapy through a ‘hot bath’ into the abdominal cavity, where it can penetrate diseased tissue directly.  After the surgeon removes as much visible cancer as possible, a heated, a sterilized chemotherapy solution is circulated throughout the abdomen through a technologically sophisticated perfusion system to destroy the remaining cancer cells. 

“This is a new and potentially revolutionary way of treating women with gynecologic cancers, which tend to be quite responsive to chemotherapy,” says Dr. DeBernardo, gynecologic oncologist at UH Case Medical Center and Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “Our preliminary data and experience has been overwhelmingly positive and the therapy has been well-tolerated and effective. HIPEC promises to extend lives in a meaningful way.”

CLEVELAND – Susan V. Juris has been named President of University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center effective Jan. 2, 2012. 

As President, Juris will lead the strategic direction, growth and overall performance of the full-service, 144-bed hospital which opened in Beachwood, Ohio, early this year.

“Ms. Juris is an enthusiastic leader with proven strengths in health care operations, service integration and marketing,” said Richard A. Hanson, President of UH’s Community Hospitals and Ambulatory Network. “Throughout her impressive career, she has built high-performing teams and achieved success through strong relationships with employees and physicians.”

CLEVELAND – Researchers from Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine presented new research findings in 25 presentations this weekend at the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) at the San Diego Convention Center.

“The breadth and depth of this innovative cancer research presented at ASH is truly outstanding,” says Stan Gerson, MD, Director of the Seidman Cancer Center at UH Case Medical Center and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. “Our faculty members are making tremendous advances in hematology and oncology which is reflected in their being chosen for oral and poster presentations.” 

Speaking at the ASH “Scientific Symposium on Lymphoid Neoplasia” in a session titled “Autophagy and Metabolism in Lymphoid Malignancies,” Clark Distelhorst, MD, provides a synthesis of the latest research indicating that autophagy occurs in lymphoid malignancies and may be a novel therapeutic target for lymphoma and other lymphoid neoplasia. His research suggests that targeting autophagy (a process through which cells eat parts of themselves to generate sufficient energy to stay alive) may be a useful adjunct to the longstanding use of glucocorticoids, such as prednisone, to kill cancer cells.

CLEVELAND – In a world-wide competition, University Hospitals (UH) received the Mission-Critical Innovation Award - Humanitarian/Environmental Impact category presented by the multinational information technology companies Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Intel.  The award recognizes UH’s leadership in information technology for groundbreaking work in developing solutions for mission-critical computing.

The award was presented Nov. 28 in Vienna, Austria. Accepting it for UH were Jeffrey Sunshine, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chairman, Department of Radiology, and Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer; Himanshu Pandya, Vice President, Radiology Services, and Karen Erhard, UH Radiology PACS manager.

The Humanitarian/Environmental Impact Award looks at organizations using advanced Itanium-based systems to make a positive impact on society or the environment. (Itanium refers to Intel microprocessors used in enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems.)