In NYU Langone’s Department of Radiation Oncology, we provide exceptional patient care, driven by the latest technology and research. Our highly trained team of radiation oncologists, residents, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, nurses, and nurse practitioners works closely with medical oncologists and surgeons who specialize in treating different types of cancer.

We care for 2,100 new patients every year and serve as a treatment center for both national and international patients. We treat patients at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center and at a number of ambulatory locations in the New York City area, including Perlmutter Cancer Center—34th Street.

Our facility, located in the Perlmutter Cancer Center—Energy Building, which is attached to NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital, includes ambulatory and inpatient services and also houses administrative and faculty offices, resident rooms, conference rooms, research offices, and clinics.

At our Perlmutter Cancer Center—Sunset Park location, we offer the most advanced radiation therapy technology and services in Brooklyn. We are also affiliated with NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, and this variety of locations allows us to care for diverse and underserved patient populations in the New York City area.

Conditions We Treat

Our radiation oncologists treat many types of cancer:

• AIDS-related lymphoma
• bladder cancer
• breast cancer in women and men
• bone and soft tissue sarcomas
• digestive system cancers, including colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic, small intestine, and stomach
• glioma and astrocytoma
• head and neck cancer, including laryngeal, nasopharyngeal, oral, oropharyngeal, salivary gland, and sinonasal cancers as well as thyroid nodules and cancers
• Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas
• intraocular melanoma
• malignant mesothelioma
• melanoma and basal and squamous cell skin cancers
• meningioma
• metastatic brain, pituitary, skull base, and spinal cord tumors
• multiple myeloma
• primary central nervous system lymphoma
• reproductive system cancers, including cervical, endometrial, and vaginal cancers in women and testicular cancer in men
• small cell and non-small cell lung cancers

Radiation Therapy Techniques and Technology

We use advanced radiation therapy techniques and high-grade technology to deliver radiation with great precision, limiting the damaging effects of radiation to nearby healthy tissues and organs.

We employ an image-guided approach to radiation therapy, using the latest four-dimensional Siemens CT simulator, a type of CT scanner that takes computerized images of the patient’s tumor site to more precisely identify the area to be treated. This type of CT scanner also helps to compensate for organ movement, such as that caused by breathing, during treatment.

Our latest radiation therapy techniques include external beam radiation, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, low-dose-rate (LDR) seed implants, and Gamma Knife^® radiosurgery.

External Beam Radiation

We offer several types of external beam radiation therapy, a type of radiation treatment that is delivered using a machine called a linear accelerator, or linac, which rotates around the person being treated, directing radiation to the tumor from different directions. Our treatment team controls the shape and size of the external beam of radiation to target tumors while sparing nearby healthy tissue.

Using Eclipse^™ treatment planning software from Varian Medical Systems, our team can create a personalized radiation therapy plan for each patient based on the prescribed radiation dose and the size, shape, and location of the tumor.

Our new linear accelerators include the Varian Medical Systems TrueBeam^® and Edge^® radiosurgery systems, equipped with Calypso—a tumor-tracking technology—and Optical Surface Monitoring System for accurate positioning of the patient. These technologies can quickly and precisely deliver radiation therapy with real-time motion management.

Our radiation oncologists helped pioneer prone breast external beam radiation therapy to treat breast cancer, which allows for better distribution of the treatment dose in a prone, or facedown, position while avoiding nearby organs, such as the heart.

We offer specialized external beam radiation therapy, including intensity-modulated radiation therapy, in which radiation is broken into small beams of controlled doses that conform to the size and shape of the tumor. This approach can allow for higher doses of radiation therapy to target the tumor more precisely.

We also provide Leksell Gamma Knife^® Icon^™ stereotactic radiosurgery, a type of external beam radiation that directs highly targeted radiation beams to the tumor in a short amount of time.

Brachytherapy

We offer brachytherapy, a type of internal radiation therapy that involves placing radioactive material at or near the location of a tumor. Compared with external beam radiation, brachytherapy uses a higher dose of radiation to treat a smaller area more quickly.

Our HDR Varian VariSource^™ machine, also called an HDR afterloader, delivers a specified dose of brachytherapy directly to the tumor in a short amount of time. This minimizes radiation exposure to nearby healthy organs and tissue. Our LDR seed implants for prostate cancer can kill cancer cells while causing less damage to healthy tissue nearby.

For Referring Physicians

If you are a physician and would like to refer a patient to our radiation oncology clinical services, please call one of the numbers below.

Perlmutter Cancer Center—34th Street: 212-731-5003
Perlmutter Cancer Center—Sunset Park: 646-754-8550
Perlmutter Cancer Center—Energy Building at Tisch Hospital: 646-501-8900