Texas Children's Cancer Center Opens First Liver Tumor Center in Southwest

HOUSTON, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Liver tumors affect more than 300 children in the United States each year and management of these children requires coordinated comprehensive care from experts in many disciplines. To answer this problem, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine announced today the formation of a new Liver Tumor Center that brings together renowned specialists in all aspects of liver cancer who will utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to provide the most comprehensive and innovative care for children afflicted with these diseases. The Liver Tumor Center is the first to open in Texas and the Southwest, and is supported by the vast infrastructure provided by Texas Children's Cancer Center (TCCC), the largest pediatric oncology and hematology center in the country and one of the finest places for children with cancer to receive care. To watch a video about the Liver Tumor Center, visit: http://bit.ly/LiverTumorCenterVideo.

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"By streamlining our resources and assembling an array of experts in the field in one comprehensive center, we are able to offer patients a well-coordinated approach to not only effect a cure but to provide an excellent quality of life after treatment," said Murali Chintagumpala, M.D., head of the Solid Tumor Team at Texas Children's Cancer Center and professor, department of pediatrics, section of hematology/oncology at Baylor College of Medicine.  "When one team works seamlessly to create the best plan for each patient, everyone benefits. The patients benefit by having all of their care in one location and the doctors benefit from our integrated communication and instant access to information."

Beyond providing comprehensive care to patients, the Liver Tumor Center offers a broad research program designed to further the understanding of what causes liver tumors in children through laboratory and clinical research.  The center's research efforts span the spectrum from basic science to clinical applications that focus on tumor biology, prevention, and the development of new therapies.

Led by Patrick A. Thompson, M.D., pediatric oncologist in the Texas Children's Cancer Center and assistant professor, department of pediatrics, section of hematology/oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, the Liver Tumor Center boasts a team of experts representing every subspecialty involved in the diagnosis and treatment of children with benign or cancerous liver tumors.  In addition, specialists pioneering advances in subspecialties like oncology, radiology, pathology, genetics, hepatology, pharmacology and laboratory research make the Liver Tumor Center at Texas Children's Cancer Center unique in its ability to provide such outstanding care.

More than one-third of children with malignant liver tumors eventually require a liver transplant.  This center will bring together all of the doctors that a patient will need during their treatment, from oncologists to transplant surgeons. The likelihood of a good outcome for a patient with an extensive liver tumor, both in terms of a cure and quality of life after treatment, is high when the care is provided in a multidisciplinary setting like the Liver Tumor Center, where there is direct access to the pediatric liver transplant program at Texas Children's Hospital, the largest program in the southern United States.  

"The goal is to rapidly integrate advances in molecular biology into clinical practice," said Milton Finegold, M.D., one of the world's pre-eminent pathology experts on liver tumors. Dr. Finegold is Chief Emeritus of the pathology service at Texas Children's, professor of pathology and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and the lead pathologist for liver tumors in the National Cancer Institute-funded Children's Oncology Group.  Finegold adds, "Combining our efforts is a huge step in improving our ability to diagnose and treat liver tumors."

Within the multidisciplinary center, clinicians and scientists meet regularly to discuss each patient's treatment plan and coordinate care in a way that takes advantage of the unique expertise of all the doctors and researchers involved.  Efforts to identify different types of tumors based on their genetic background will eventually lead to personalized medicine, in which therapy is individualized for each patient and their particular cancer. This personalized approach will result in increased cures with fewer side effects.

To learn more about the Liver Tumor Center, visit http://bit.ly/livertumorcenter.

About Texas Children's Cancer Center

As an international leader in pediatric cancer research and treatment, Texas Children's Cancer Center is dedicated to providing novel therapies and family-centered care to children from infancy through young adulthood with cancer and blood disorders – from the most common to rare. The Texas Children's Cancer Center is a joint program of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine and is the pediatric program of BCM's NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center. Ranked 5th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, making the Center #1 outside the northeast United States as well as #1 in Texas, Texas Children's Cancer Center treats more childhood cancer and hematology patients than any other program in the U.S., with patients coming from 35 states and 26 countries around the world. Learn more at www.txccc.org.

About Texas Children's Hospital

Texas Children's Hospital is committed to a community of healthy children by providing the finest pediatric patient care, education and research. Renowned worldwide for its expertise and breakthrough developments in clinical care and research, Texas Children's is nationally ranked in all ten subspecialties in U.S.News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals. Texas Children's also operates the nation's largest primary pediatric care network, with more than 40 offices throughout the greater Houston community. Texas Children's has embarked on a $1.5 billion expansion, Vision 2010, which includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute™, a comprehensive obstetrics facility focusing on high-risk births and a community hospital in suburban West Houston. Texas Children's is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is its primary pediatric training site.  For more information on Texas Children's Hospital, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news from Texas Children's Hospital by visiting the online newsroom http://www.texaschildrens.org/allabout/news/default.aspx  and on Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.

Related Links

Home Page: Liver Tumor Center

Texas Children's Cancer Center

Home Page: Texas Children's Hospital

SOURCE Texas Children's Hospital

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