Clinical Services
Paragangliomas (PGLs) are usually localized to the neck, although they can metastasize distantly or be locally aggressive with recurrent disease. Traditionally, the mainstay of treatment has been surgical removal. Radiation therapy, utilized in cases where surgery is contraindicated or has recurred locally, has demonstrated its effectiveness in achieving local control of these tumors.
When a malignant paraganglioma metastasizes to other parts of the body, surgery and radiation therapy play a limited role. In this circumstance, systemic approaches including chemotherapy and/or biologic therapy are an option, although the systemic approaches to date have not been very successful for this disease.
Near-term goals for our program include:
- Developing novel approaches of systemic chemotherapy or biologic therapy
- Genetic testing using tumor samples derived from PGL patients
- Continued research in the biology of PGL