Bayshore Now Offers Cutting-Edge Liver Cancer Treatment

HOLMDEL, NJ — Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, part of Hackensack Meridian Health, recently performed its first Y-90 procedure, a new treatment for liver cancer. Y-90 radioembolization is a minimally invasive procedure that combines embolization and radiation therapy. Embolization is a treatment that blocks one or more blood vessels.

“Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a treatment for several different types of inoperable cancers of the liver,” said Peter S. Doss, M.D., director of Vascular/Interventional Radiology. “As an Interventional Radiologist, I have been specially trained in this method which allows us to target the cancer while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. It is a much more focused approach than traditional chemotherapy that can impact the entire body.”

This highly targeted treatment method minimizes damage and radiation exposure to healthy liver tissue. Y-90 radioembolization therapy safely allows a larger dose of radiation to be used than conventional radiation treatments permit. Patients are discharged within four to six hours after this procedure and may resume their normal activities within two to three days.

Tiny glass or resin beads filled with a radioactive isotope are placed inside the blood vessels that feed a tumor. This blocks the supply of blood to the cancer cells and delivers a high dose of radiation to the tumor from inside the body without medicating or affecting other parts of the body.

“The Y-90 treatment offers our patient an option that is less invasive and may have fewer side effects,” said Frank Citara, Bayshore Medical Center’s chief hospital executive. “Innovations like this allow us to offer our patients improved care, a shorter recovery time, and a better outcome.”

Hackensack Meridian Health has the most experience with Y90 treatments in the state of New Jersey. In addition to Bayshore Medical Center it is also offered at Hackensack University Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center and Mountainside Medical Center. The Interventional Radiologists work closely in a multidisciplinary system with medical oncology and surgical oncology to optimize patient-specific treatment plans.

Bayshore Medical Center is a 211-bed not-for-profit community hospital located in Holmdel, New Jersey, providing health care programs and services in all major medical disciplines, including: emergency medicine, cardiac catheterization, surgical services, wound care, sleep services, diagnostic imaging, women's services with digital mammography, as well as a designated primary stroke center. Its’ Center for Bariatrics is one of the most comprehensive in the region offering free informational sessions, pre-surgical education and evaluation, personal guidance through the surgical process, nutritional support, exercise components and support groups.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals in New Jersey, from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.