At CCCNY, our goal is providing the best patient outcomes. The first step is reporting them. These are our most recent data for some important measures. We will publish additional results as they become available as part of our commitment to measuring and improving care.

• Head & Neck Cancers
• Prostate Cancer
• Thoracic Cancers

Head & Neck Cancers

CCCNY's expert, highly collaborative multidisciplinary teams are national leaders in treating cancers of the head and neck. Their closely coordinated state-of-the-art treatments combine surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to the specific requirements of each cancer. The following results for some common diagnoses indicate the outcomes our approach has produced.

Larynx

Among the most common head and neck cancers are those involving the voice box, or larynx. Tumors originating at the vocal cords of the larynx are particularly important since they account for the strength, clarity and pitch of voice. (See the drawing below.) Early stage vocal cord tumors may be managed with surgery or radiation therapy with high cure rates for each approach. Patients treated with radiotherapy are likely to maintain the quality of their voice. Below are outcomes for over 300 patients treated with radiotherapy alone for T1 (tumors involving either one or both vocal cords), T2 (vocal cords that have spread to structures above or below the cords or have impaired mobility) and selected T3 cancers (cancers that have paralyzed a vocal cord). Results for patients with T4 larynx cancers and more advanced T3 cancers are currently being analyzed and will be available soon.

Unknown Primary

A distinct subset of head and neck cancer patients can present with cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes of the neck without an obvious source of the cancer (primary). Extensive workup involving surgical evaluation, molecular diagnostic profiling and functional PET/CT imaging is required to search for a possible primary site. Our approach in treating the unknown primary is unique in that it addresses the most likely site of origin (tonsil and tongue base) while sparing other potential but unlikely sources of the cancer such as the voice box and significant portion of the swallowing structures. These results indicate that multidisciplinary treatment provides excellent control for this very worrying diagnosis.

BACK TO TOP

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer that has not spread, or metastasized, can be treated by surgery or radiation. The choice of treatment depends on the patient’s cancer, other health problems and their preferences after they consult with experts. The figures below show the likelihood of a patient being free of a cancer recurrence (based on the PSA blood test and all other methods) after various radiation treatments at one of our hospitals, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt. The results at our other are being prepared.

Low risk patients are those with:
Stage T1-T2a (normal feeling prostate or at most a small nodule)
and a blood PSA level of 10 or less and
a Gleason score on the biopsy of 6 or less
(A patient must have all 3 of these criteria to be low risk.)

High risk patients are those with:
Stage T3-4 (tumor can be felt growing beyond the normal boundaries of the prostate)
or a blood PSA level of higher than 20
or a Gleason score of the biopsy of 8 or higher
(A patient who has any 1 of these criteria is high risk.)

Intermediate risk patients are all the rest of the patients.

Patients were treated with brachytherapy alone, brachytherapy +IMRT, IMRT alone and IMRT+AD depending on their situation and their outcomes are shown in the figures below.

Abbreviations: IMRT - intensity modulated radiotherapy (a sophisticated form of external beam radiotherapy) AD - androgen deprivation (otherwise known as hormone therapy).

All high risk patients were treated with IMRT+AD.

BACK TO TOP

Thoracic Cancers

30-Day Mortality for Lobectomy
Taking out a lobe of the lung to remove a lung cancer is major surgery. The best measure of how carefully patients are evaluated for the surgery and taken care of afterwards is the 30-day mortality rate after surgery. These outcomes at CCCNY over the last 8 years are better than all comparison groups.

Risk-Adjusted Combined Morbidity/Mortality for Esophagectomy
Esophagectomy is a complex procedure required to treat one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the US, esophageal cancer. At CCCNY, our surgical team is composed of highly trained specialists who collaborate closely on the management of esophageal cancer. At CCCNY members of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) have reported their excellent results to the voluntary quality measurement program of the STS. We are preparing a more extensive database for the near future.

Reducing the Average Length of Stay for Major Thoracic Procedures at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital
We developed a program that begins to get our patients moving while they are still in the ICU, keeps them moving at least twice daily once they move to the regular floor and pushes them to climb stairs, not just walk. The results have been healthier patients and earlier discharges to home. We are extending this approach to our teams at Beth Israel.

BACK TO TOP