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Most Baton Rouge residents don’t
know it, but one of the most renowned breast cancer
centers in the world is located right here, at the Summit
Hospital campus off O’Neal Lane. Some of its latest
research offers not only hope for women with breast
cancer, but also great news for men with prostate cancer.
Led by Dr. Robert Elliott, the Elliott,
Elliott, Head Breast Cancer Research & Treatment
Center is extraordinary for two reasons. First, it is
one of very few clinics to offer comprehensive care
in one center. EEHC provides early detection through
on-site mammography, ultrasound, infrared imaging and
education, along with treatment of breast disease on
its spacious fourth floor suite at Physicians Plaza
II. Second, it is rare to find a breast center that
also has a certified laboratory and conducts ongoing
breast cancer research to improve survival rates and
provide the least invasive treatments.
Having conducted research for the
last 20 years, EEHC has developed and patented an innovative
vaccine treatment to boost a patient’s immunity
to her own cancer. This treatment is used in conjunction
with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, to improve
a patent’s chances for long-term survival. "This
provides some hope for women who have had conventional
therapy that has proven ineffective," Dr. Elliott
said.
The exciting news coming from the
research center now is related to men. A vaccine with
PSA antigen has been developed to eliminate prostate
cancer in men. "We have had very exciting results
in the first trial study of 10 men with prostate cancer,"
said Dr. Elliott. "We have reduced their PSA levels
to the normal range and obliterated tumors in a significant
number of the men without any other treatment."
While more research is needed, if this vaccine is proven
to be effective, it could eliminate surgery and other
prostate cancer treatments that have severe side effects.
Other research in the EEHC laboratory
has resulted in these advances:
- The use of tumor markers, which
are a very early detection system for finding recurrences
in breast cancer through changes in blood proteins
- Transferrin-based chemotherapy,
which takes advantage of the high uptake of iron by
tumor cells. This treatment involves attaching cancer-killing
drugs to the iron carrier transferrin.
Only a man of great passion for
his work would follow the road of Dr. Elliott. He has
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the latest
equipment for diagnosis, treatment and research, and
dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours to the study
of breast cancer. His director of research, Dr. Jonathan
Head, is a Ph.D. tumor biologist. Dr. Head has been
instrumental in many of the advances made in the 4,000-square-foot
research laboratory at EEHC.
Also working with Dr. Head are
a cell biologist and a molecular biologist. Much of
their research has been funded by Dr. Elliott in his
quest to eradicate breast cancer.
The center has published many research
papers in medical journals and presented its findings
at many medical conferences across the world. Dr. Elliott
and his staff have also conducted medical training for
other physicians and medical technicians.
But Dr. Elliott has not limited
his work to research. He has also had a passion for
providing the least invasive treatments for women.
Dr. Elliott was one of the first
physicians in the country to perform stereotactic needle
biopsy, which is a procedure requiring only a local
anesthetic and minimally invasive surgery to perform
a breast biopsy, rather than general anesthesia and
more invasive open surgical biopsy.
This procedure led to the development
of radiofrequency ablation, which eliminates tumors
of one centimeter or less via a radiofrequency probe.
Not only does it eliminate tumors at a very early stage,
it also eliminates the need for more invasive surgery.
Summit Hospital joined forces with
Dr. Elliott to provide another procedure, one which determines
whether cancer has spread to lymph nodes, but does so
without removing all the nodes. Called sentinel node
biopsy, this procedure involves the injection of a radioactive
isotope and a dye, which maps out the first node, draining
the tumor basin. Then the sentinel node is thoroughly
examined for the presence of cancer cells. Summit purchased
$25,000 of specialized equipment and provided special
training for its surgical nurses to assist Dr. Elliott
in performing the procedure.
"We are state-of-the-art in
early detection, diagnosis and treatment," said
Dr. Elliott. "Women come here from across the country
for treatment. When we do a mammogram, women know before
they leave what the results are. If there is a problem,
they know it on that visit, not two or three weeks later."
Both Dr. Elliott and Dr. Head promote
use of the least invasive treatment possible for breast
cancer. "This clinic is unique in that the same
people who do the mammogram also read it, provide patient
care and perform many of the procedures, so there isn’t
that fractionalized care. One result of fractionalized
care can be overtreatment of a patient. That is less
likely here," said Dr. Head. "There are less
than a handful of centers like this across the country."
Dr. Elliott performs his surgical
procedures at Summit Hospital. "We perform a number
of procedures in our breast center, but we go next door
to Summit for procedures such as the sentinel node biopsies
and open biopsies, mastectomies, duct excisions, CT
and bone scans, and nuclear medicine," Dr. Elliott
said. "Summit has been very accommodating, and
we have been pleased with the high level of patient
care."
EEHC is also unlike other breast
cancer clinics in that it offers a chemotherapy suite,
bone density screening, radiology and infrared imaging
on site. A certified oncology nurse and an anesthesiologist
who specializes in pain management are also on staff.
Dr. Mary Elliott, wife of Dr. Elliott, specializes in
primary breast health care, teaches self examinations
and monitors chemotherapy patients. A chemist and physician,
she produces the center’s biological response
modifier drug, which has provided dramatic results for
some critically ill patients. EEHC provides patients
not only with the latest in technology, but also with
a staff of competent, skilled, caring professionals
committed to their care.
Located at 17050 Medical Center
Drive on the Summit Hospital campus, EEHC is an international
leader in women’s breast care and cancer treatment—right
here in Baton Rouge.
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