Learning that she had esophageal cancer was not the first time Cyla Kinori
faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge. German troops who overran her native
Poland told her to move into the Bialystok Ghetto in August 1941. Two years
later, the Nazis liquidated the ghetto and told her to get into the rail car
that took her to the Majdanek concentration camp. Again, she was told she must
line up, get moving. Blizyn concentration camp. Then Auschwitz. In January 1945,
soldiers told her to start walking once more, in the Death March from Auschwitz
to Loslau.
Esophageal cancer? Not so bad, not so bad.
“She said, ‘We’ll do what we need to do. I can survive this,’” says her
daughter and translator Luta Goldman.
 |
| “I’m so very pleased with the care my mother received at
Georgetown,” says Cyla Kinori’s daughter
Luta. |
Ms. Kinori did survive esophageal cancer and there is little chance of it
returning, thanks to a new therapy, BarrX, that destroys precancerous tissue in
a quick and pain-free outpatient procedure. Georgetown is the only regional
option for BarrX treatment.
“Standard therapy for esophageal cancer is open surgery, a traumatic
procedure with a long and painful recovery,” says John Carroll, MD, who
specializes in endoscopic gastroenterology at Georgetown. “But newer, less
invasive treatments, like BarrX, are available. To successfully treat Ms.
Kinori’s cancer we used BarrX as the final step in a series of techniques.”
BarrX treatment uses a metal-coated balloon mounted at the tip of an
endoscope. The metal surface is important—it acts as a radiofrequency electrode
that conducts an electric current that destroys diseased cells. The endoscope is
inserted down the patient’s throat. The physician positions the balloon in the
esophagus and inflates it to bring the metal surface in contact with the
precancerous tissue. A pulse of energy—less than a second— activates the
electrode and vaporizes the thin layer of cancerous tissue without damaging
underlying cells.
“Georgetown is a leader in using innovative approaches to treat
gastrointestinal disease,” Dr. Carroll says. “We often get the newest technology
very early in its development. It was very satisfying to know that we could
treat Ms. Kinori with a procedure like BarrX that involved as little discomfort
as possible, considering what she went through already in her life.”
Ms. Kinori’s experiences in Germany demonstrated her mettle. She emigrated
from Poland to Israel before she came to live with her daughter in Rockville,
Md. In December of last year, Ms. Kinori saw a physician because of stomach
discomfort. During an endoscopic examination the doctor found a small node that
proved to be cancerous. “The doctor said ‘go to Georgetown,’ and we met Dr.
Carroll,” Ms. Goldman says. “He started treatment in January.”
Her treatment involved a number of steps. First, Dr. Carroll used an
endoscope to operate inside the esophagus and cut away cancerous mucous tissue.
This procedure was followed by a technique called photodynamic therapy (PDT) to
destroy remaining cancerous cells. PDT uses drugs that are preferentially
absorbed by cancer cells—normal cells do not absorb the compounds. Specific
wavelengths of laser light, delivered through an endoscope, activate the drug
and trigger a reaction that kills the cancer cells.
During a follow-up exam six weeks later, Dr. Carroll noticed a condition
known as Barrett’s esophagus—the growth of some abnormal cells that can develop
into cancer cells. Rather than treating this with another round of PDT, which
leaves eyes and skin extremely sensitive to light for a month or more, Dr.
Carroll chose the BarrX technique.
“The technique is painless and involves little or no recovery time,” Dr.
Carroll says. “It should leave Ms. Kinori cancer free. It’s very satisfying to
know that we can spare her any more suffering or discomfort. She has survived so
much already. She’s an amazing woman.”
For more information about Georgetown’s gastroenterology program or to
schedule an appointment with one of our Gastroenterologists, call GeorgetownMD
at 202.342.2400 or toll-free at 866.745.2633.
