Bringing Access to Advanced Radiosurgery Close to Home in the North Hills
PITTSBURGH - North Hills residents now have access to the most sophisticated radiation oncology treatment at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Passavant, with the addition of a new, advanced linear accelerator (linac) used to treat cancerous tumors and destroy cancer cells while sparing surrounding normal tissue.
"Having close-to-home access to nationally ranked UPMC Hillman Cancer Center can be life changing," said Elizabeth Piccione, M.D., president, UPMC Passavant. "This new addition improves our radiation oncology treatment capabilities. The 9,100 radiation treatments provided here in 2025 will be able to increase exponentially."
Targeting DNA in cancer cells with high-precision, high-dose radiation, the new linac is the most advanced Varian TrueBeam system for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). It allows extremely precise treatment of difficult-to-reach tumors while maximizing protection of healthy tissue. Thanks to this technology, long-term treatment protocols have often been replaced with just a few sessions, or even a single treatment, without compromising efficacy or safety.
"SBRT and SRS can deliver radiation with pinpoint accuracy. With these treatments, what could have been 20 to 30 daily treatments can become three to five total sessions," said Kiran Mehta, M.D., radiation oncologist, UPMC Passavant. "They offer better outcomes for the patient and frees up additional appointments on linear accelerators to improve overall access to comprehensive oncology care."
By bringing this advanced technology to the community, UPMC Passavant is keeping patients closer to home, reducing travel burden and responding to a clear community need. Until now, patients in the North Hills with brain and spine conditions had to travel to Shadyside or Oakland for these highly specialized treatments.
"UPMC Passavant is one of our largest regional hospitals and one of our busiest radiation oncology sites within UPMC Hillman Cancer Center," said Tyler Wilhite, M.D., regional vice chair of Radiation Oncology at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. "Our goal at UPMC Hillman is to make sure patients do not have to travel far to receive their care, and that's why we have one of the largest integrated cancer networks in the country."
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Passavant has been serving the community for more than 29 years and is one of more than 70 UPMC Hillman centers across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio and abroad with locations in Italy, Ireland and Croatia.
