Academic and Community Medicine join to battle the fastest growing cancer in America, which frequently presents with chronic cough

The Mount Sinai Medical Center and ENT and Allergy Associates® (ENTA) recently announced that they are expanding their first-of-its-kind clinical affiliation to screen and treat patients for esophageal cancer.The type of esophageal cancer that is related to acid reflux disease and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, has seen a 500 percent increase in incidence in men and a 300 percent increase in incidence in women since 1975, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The partnership between Mount Sinai and ENTA has helped nearly 2,000 patients since 2007 as a result of a comprehensive screening and treatment program for head and neck cancer. Once again, Mount Sinai and ENTA will provide an expedited path to comprehensive state-of-the-art healthcare, allowing patients to benefit from a seamless diagnostic and treatment program that begins with an examination in the comfort of their local ENT and Allergy Associates office.  If further care is needed, the patient is then transitioned to a GI doctor in their community, and/or in the case of a suspected lesion, to the Division of Gastroenterology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

 “Esophageal cancer often presents itself as a chronic cough before actual swallowing problems show up,” said Dr. Jonathan Aviv, Clinical Director of the Voice and Swallowing Center™ at ENT and Allergy Associates. “Raising awareness as early as possible among our patients allows us to screen them—using minimally invasive techniques pioneered by doctors at ENT and Allergy Associates—and then send them to Mount Sinai for treatment that may possibly save their lives. Aviv continued “And unlike colon cancer screening, which requires a bowel prep and intravenous sedation with loss of a day from work, screening of the esophagus takes mere minutes to perform, does not require a prep and is carried out with the patient completely awake without intravenous medication or loss of a day of work. The technique is called TransNasal Esophagoscopy (TNE).”
 
Added Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Director of Endoscopy in Mount Sinai’s Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, “We are delighted to be closely aligned with our colleagues at ENTA in encouraging patients to seek early detection, screening, and intervention. If esophageal cancer is diagnosed in its earliest stages, the patient’s chances of living and being cancer free after treatment are greatly improved.” 

Commented Dr. Wayne Eisman, President of ENTA, “Expanding our clinical affiliation with Mount Sinai to now include the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer, as well as head and neck cancer, ensures that our patients are receiving the very finest medical care possible.  I am extremely proud that we are part of such an innovative and valuable affiliation.”

To learn more about your risk, visit www.entandallergy.com/ec.php

ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP is the largest and most comprehensive ear, nose, throat, allergy and audiology practice in the nation with 35 offices and over 115 physicians. Each location provides a full complement of services, including General Adult and Pediatric ENT, Voice and Swallowing, Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery, Disorders of the Inner Ear and Dizziness, Asthma, Clinical Immunology, Diagnostic Audiology, and hearing aid dispensing. Visit http://www/entandallergy.comfor more information. The practice has a clinical alliance with the Mount Sinai Medical Center for the treatment of diseases of the head and neck and a partnership with the American Cancer Society to educate and treat patients with smoking disorders and cancer. The Practice has also recently expanded its clinical capabilities to include advanced Immunodeficiency trials.