Maciej Lesniak, M.D., Department of Surgery, is passionate about providing the best possible care to patients diagnosed with brain tumors. While somewhat rare, especially when compared to lung cancer or breast cancer, the incidence of brain tumors in a city like Chicago amounts to around 2,000 new cases per year. Yet, when Lesniak arrived in Chicago he quickly realized that the city really had no central location where these patients could receive comprehensive quality care after their diagnoses.

"When you have a relatively small group of people affected by this devastating disease, where your median survival is measured in months rather than years, it really makes sense to have a specialized center ?for the treatment of those patients," explains Lesniak. "Ironically enough, in a city as big as Chicago, with all of its academic medical institutions, there really wasn't until now a neuro-oncology center. We now have an opportunity to bring neurosurgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, neuropathology, neuroanesthesiology, and neurointensive care all under one roof with a single goal of advancing and improving patient health."

Lesniak was quick to equate a lack with an opportunity. "When I came here I was very interested in building such a center for the city, in fact for the Midwest, where we could offer comprehensive treatment for patients with brain tumors. I wanted to create a place where patients could come and rest assured that they were getting the best evaluation for their condition rather than forcing them to travel to different places in the city, state or country."

With the help of the University of Chicago Practice Plan Dean's Initiative, Lesniak has brought his vision to life. The Dean's Initiative constitutes an investment of $10 million in clinical program development with targeted co-investment by the Hospitals. Funded programs are inter-departmental in nature and have a marked impact on the field and the greater medical community. The selection process, overseen by the Practice Plan Executive Committee, allows the Division to quickly identify ideas for program development and promote coordination among departments, all with the goal of funding innovative and unique programs in harmony with academic and clinical business aims. The Brain Tumor Center, one of the first of such programs funded, will bring together a variety of individuals with experience in an area of neuroscience who can offer patients comprehensive care in the treatment and management of their condition.

"When I arrived here, I learned about the Dean's Initiative, and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to try to get a group of people involved across the neurosciences under one umbrella in the Brain Tumor Center," says Lesniak. "The Brain Tumor Center offers people comprehensive management for some of the most difficult and devastating kinds of cancer known to man. We will strive not only to excel clinically by providing patients with the best treatment options, but also to build an active clinical and basic science research program which can be translated into clinical trials."

The Brain Tumor Center has already begun addressing the needs of patients, and cases are presented to a Tumor Board of individuals specializing in various areas of neuroscience. These experts are then able to converse and evaluate the patient to determine the best possible course of treatment. Lesniak and his team are currently working to streamline the process for patients, so they can access the Brain Tumor Center in its entirety by calling a central office.

"Having a centralized office is critical to facilitating patient access to the right doctors," says Lesniak. "We're working on creating a centralized office so patients that have been diagnosed with a brain tumor can call a single number to access all of the doctors they might need to see. That office could also triage the patient based on initial information and treatment history, and then the Tumor Board would be more prepared to properly address the patient's treatment needs."

The creation of the Brain Tumor Center is an exciting step for the Division and the Hospitals, one that Lesniak hopes will have a profound impact in Chicago. "The creation of this center is really a major breakthrough for treating brain tumor patients in Chicago and throughout the Midwest," concludes Lesniak, "and I think we will quickly be among the foremost places nationally that patients can go for treatment of brain tumors."

Other programs approved for funding by the Dean's Initiative in Clinical Program Development include Prenatal Diagnostic Centers, led by Dr. Arthur Haney, and a program in Thoracic Oncology, led by Dr. Ravi Salgia.

 

 

DISCOVERIES
The BSD to announce the appointment of T. Conrad Gilliam, Ph.D., as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Human Genetics, effective September 1, 2004...

DEVELOPMENT
The new academic year is off to an energetic start. Spark Discovery, Illuminate Life has a new website, which was launched on October 18...

Dollars and Sense
The BSD financial highlights for fiscal year 2004

In Memoriam
Stanley Yachnin, M.D., professor emeritus and former section chief of hematology and oncology at the University of Chicago, died at his daughter's home in Hyde Park on Monday, Aug. 30...

ACCOLADES
Recent Awards and Grants Information for Biological Sciences Division Faculty

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Recent Recruitemnts and Appointments of Biological Sciences Division Faculty

More News & Events

Biological Sciences Division
The University of Chicago 5741 S. Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
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