Pulmonary Medicine at Roswell Park is divided into interventional pulmonary and general pulmonary services. Both services provide inpatient consultative services as well as outpatient clinics to manage patients with the entire spectrum of thoracic oncology, as well as pulmonary comorbidities encountered in the general population.
Pulmonary services form a critical part of disease management at a cancer center. Our team plays a central role in the diagnosis of malignancies within the chest, we are active participants in the multidisciplinary tumor board meetings and provide advanced therapeutic management of airway disease and complications.
General pulmonary medicine services
- Assessment of fitness for thoracic surgery
- Diagnostic management and evaluation of diffuse lung disease
- Management of complications of immunomodulatory drugs
- Pulmonary function and exercise tolerance tests (ranging from 6-miunute walk tests to cardiopulmonary exercise tests)
Interventional pulmonary medicine services
Interventional pulmonary medicine is rapidly becoming an integral part of cancer care at cancer centers throughout the country. At Roswell Park, we enjoy close collaboration with colleagues within thoracic surgery and other medical specialties. We are active members of the thoracic MDC tumor board. We often coordinate with colleagues within the head and neck surgical departments and advanced endoscopy in managing complex patients and in research. We provide:
- Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the management of patients with lung cancer
- Therapeutic procedures for patients with extrathoracic cancers that have spread into the lungs
- Robotic navigational bronchoscopy with the Monarch Navigational platform
Our cutting-edge capabilities
In thoracic oncology procedural therapeutics, we also enjoy a number of cutting-edge technologies and exciting first-in-the-region accomplishments.
Monarch Robotic Navigational system
Roswell Park was the first hospital in New York State to use the Mornarch system to diagnose small peripheral lung nodules in our quest to diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage of disease. In the last two years, we have performed nearly 300 robotic bronchoscopies. We actively collaborate in industry sponsored research trials related to the Monarch Robot including the TARGET trial, the Phase 0 trial in lung cancer, and a Stand Up T2 Cancer grant awarded for the longitudinal evaluation of ground glass lung nodules.
Thoracent hybrid Y stents
Roswell Park was the first hospital in New York State, and the second nationwide, to use the new Thoracent hybrid Y stent to manage complications of advanced airway malignancy. To date, Nathaniel Ivanick, MD, FCCP, has placed more hybrid Y stents than any other physician within the country.
Interstitial photodynamic therapy
In 2022, in conjunction with Gal Shafirstein, DSc, MSc, BSc, Dr. Ivanick published findings on the first 10 patients treated with image guided interstitial photodynamic therapy, creating a promising new treatment option for patients with advanced obstructive airway malignancies. This represents more patients treated in this manner with interstitial photodynamic therapy that anywhere else within the world.
