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Spine Center Launches Tumor Board

January 19, 2006
Contact: News Office (415) 476-2557

As part of the state-of-the-art care provided by the UCSF Spine Center, a monthly Spine Tumor Board will be held to review challenging cases involving primary tumors of the spine and tumors that have spread to the spine from other parts of the body.

The Tumor Board is open to referring specialists, including oncologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons and radiation oncologists, who are encouraged to bring their complex patient cases for review. We will facilitate in-depth reviews of each condition by neuroradiology, followed by treatment discussions involving our neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, radiation oncology, oncology and pathology specialists.

The Spine Center at UCSF Medical Center brings together world-renowned specialists to treat patients with complex spinal problems, including those who have had unsuccessful treatments and those with difficult-to-diagnose conditions.

Meetings
The Tumor Board meets on the third Wednesday of every month in the Neurology conference room on the 8th floor at 400 Parnassus Ave. The first meeting will take place on Feb. 15, 2006. Coffee and bagels will be provided.

Case Submissions
Please submit cases for review to the UCSF Spine Center at:
UCSF Spine Center
Attention: UCSF Spine Tumor Board
400 Parnassus Ave.
Third Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143-0332

If submitted one week prior to the Tumor Board meeting, cases can be reviewed in advance by neuroradiology. If advance submission is not possible, cases will be accepted for review on the day of the meeting. For urgent situations that cannot wait for review at our monthly Tumor Board, we provide a rapid multidisciplinary case review within 48 hours of submission.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Christopher Ames
Co-director of the UCSF Spine Center and UCSF Neurospinal Surgery
Phone (415) 353-9360
Pager (415) 719-6441
AmesC@neurosurg.ucsf.edu