Quirónsalud has opened an integrated unit for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer
The team has implemented an innovative organisational model that offers patients all the services they may require during their entire process in a coordinated and multidisciplinary manner at the Malaga, Marbella and Campo de Gibraltar Quirónsalud hospitals.
According to the latest published data, cancer diagnoses will have increased by 3% by the end of this year, although over 55% of tumours can be resolved using the available treatments. Cancer specialists require an ever-closer interrelationship to ensure the unification of their efforts towards the best personalised therapy option. This is the reason for the creation of the Integrated Oncology Unit, an innovative organisational model offering cancer patients all the services they may require during their process in a coordinated and multidisciplinary manner at the Malaga, Marbella and Campo de Gibraltar Quirónsalud hospitals.
Dr Jorge Contreras, the Director of this Integrated Oncology Unit, has highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary coordination and of the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures used to treat cancer: This is why we have created “this unique and different project, which is not available at any other close medical centre. Our cancer integrated unit represents a very important development as it combines the best health professionals, the most advanced technology and the most personalised assistance within the same hospital. This enables the patient to receive the best clinical and quality results”.
Our commitment to offer the best service to the oncology patient has facilitated the design of a model based on the optimisation of the patient-health professional relationship. The oncologist highlighted the implementation of “multidirectional and personalised communication channels between the patient and the medical team that help users have an easy and fast access to all the services of the medical centres in Malaga, Marbella and Campo de Gibraltar, with identified contact persons, and always with respect to the privacy, autonomy and confidentiality of the patient “.
Nuclear medicine and radiation oncology
In addition to the already excellent cancer diagnosis team (Radiology and Anatomic Pathology), Quirónsalud has added a Nuclear Medicine Unit for this project with equipment such as PET-TAC and SPECT-TAC, which will provide oncology professionals greater possibilities to understand the extent of the disease, making it easier to offer more precise treatments.
The new cancer integrated unit also has a Radiation Oncology Unit situated on the ground floor of the new Malaga Quirónsalud Day Hospital at Calle Pilar Lorengar, with the most advance techniques the oncology patient may require during the evolution of their disease, enabling the hospital to offer all the guarantees of safety and effectiveness for a treatment with fewer radiation sessions (known as hypofractionated radiations), performing procedures on a large number of tumours with only 1 to 5 radiotherapy combined sessions (where necessary), with personalised systemic methods based on the information provided by genetic platforms, which tell us the drugs that can be most beneficial to the patient in their specific clinical situation).
The Radiotherapy Unit is provided with a latest generation Varian linear accelerator with incorporated CT and robotic desk that allow to offer all kinds of latest-generation radiotherapy treatments such as image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), fractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), radiation therapy for brain tumours (SRS), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), etc. In summary, all this advanced technology provides patients with the possibility of receiving what we call hypofractionated treatment (with only a few sessions) for your tumours.
Supplementary Services
In addition to this advanced technology, Dr Jorge Contreras has also highlighted that this unit is a “pioneer in the implementation of the innovative treatment technique known as oncological hyperthermia, which improves the results of conventional oncological treatments (radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy) through the use of radiofrequency systems, which will allow us to offer more options to provide a response to situations where patients cannot expect good results from their current treatments “.
In coordination with conventional treatments, the cancer integrated unit offers supplementary services proven by scientists and experience to be capable of improving the patient’s quality of life. These are oncological hyperthermia, psycho-oncology, nutritional oncology, oncology aesthetics, genetical counselling, physical exercise or hyperbaric medicine.
Cancer incidence rates
The 2022 gross incidence rates in Andalusia for all forms of cancer are estimated at 4 in 1,000 men and 3 in 1,000 women (excluding skin tumours that are not melanomas). By gender, the most frequent cancer in women is breast cancer and prostate cancer in men. However, it is important to highlight that over 55% of these tumours can currently be resolved using the available treatments.
According to the Spanish Medical Oncology Association (SEOM in its Spanish acronym), in Malaga alone, the newly diagnosed cases of cancer by the end of 2022 will be 11,000, representing an increase in the annual incidence of 3%.
Radiotherapy is a necessary treatment option for 50% to 60% of cancer patients throughout their evolution. This form of therapy is increasingly more prescribed as a first option in emergent tumours such as cancer of the prostate, breast and rectum, with combined treatments with chemotherapy being also more frequent.
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Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella
Avda. Severo Ochoa, 22
29603 Marbella Málaga
