October 2024

PULMONARY

NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE PHYSICIANS PERFORM FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND DOUBLE-LUNG TRANSPLANT ON PATIENT WITH STAGE 4 COLON CANCER

Featuring: Ankit Bharat, MD
In a pioneering procedure at Northwestern Medicine, surgeons have performed a double-lung transplant on a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer who had limited time to live. The procedure was achieved through the Northwestern Medicine Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care (DREAM) Program, a first-of-its-kind clinical initiative for select patients with advanced lung cancers that do not respond to contemporary treatments.
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The patient, 42-year-old Amanda “Mandy” Wilk of Savage, Minnesota, had stage 4 colorectal cancer since 2017, and it had initially spread to her liver. After undergoing cancer treatments and receiving a liver transplant from her brother, the cancer returned — this time in her lungs. Facing few options for survival, Wilk sought out the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine.

On June 3, Wilk received new lungs and was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital one week later.

“This is a first-of-its-kind surgery at Northwestern Medicine where a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer has received a double-lung transplant,” says Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of Thoracic Surgery and director of Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “Our surgical team meticulously removed Mandy’s cancer-ridden lungs without allowing any cancerous cells to spill into her bloodstream, and then we transplanted new lungs. While we’re optimistic about her future, it’s important to approach this with cautious optimism as further research is needed to understand the long-term outcomes.”

About the DREAM Program
Canning Thoracic Institute is currently the only clinical site in the nation offering this treatment for lung cancer patients without any options. Using lessons learned from pioneering COVID-19 lung transplantation in the United States, surgeons developed the novel surgical technique of clearing the cancer during surgery while minimizing the risk of spread that has plagued earlier attempts at other hospitals.

“Unlike the conventional technique of sequential transplants, this innovative technique involves putting the patient on full heart and lung bypass, delicately taking both cancer-ridden lungs out at the same time along with the lymph nodes, washing the airways and the chest cavity to clear the cancer, and then transplanting new lungs,” says Dr. Bharat. “These patients can have billions of cancer cells in the lungs, so we must be extremely meticulous to not let a single cell spill into the patient’s chest cavity or blood stream.”

To date, surgeons have performed more than 40 successful lung transplants for patients with cancer through the DREAM program. The outcomes of the program’s patients are being tracked in a research registry also called DREAM.

“It's important to recognize that this is a highly specialized procedure that may not be suitable for all patients with metastatic cancer,” adds Dr. Bharat. “Careful evaluation and selection are key to ensuring the best possible outcomes.”

This story was originally published on September 25, 2024, on NM Newsroom.
Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of Thoracic Surgery in the Department of Surgery, Harold L. and Margaret N. Method Research Professor of Surgery, professor of Thoracic Surgery, professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care

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