Rotation Facilities

Los Angeles General Medical Center

Los Angeles General Medical Center is the primary training site for the USC Radiation Oncology Residency Program. A designated Level I Trauma Center, it is one of the country’s largest clinical teaching hospitals and is the largest single provider of health services in Los Angeles County. The hospital supplies the region’s medically underserved with critical access to health care. The large patient population provides USC radiation oncology program residents with a unique opportunity to learn, evaluate, and gain a proficient understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of head and neck, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, breast, gynecologic, lung, central nervous system, bone, skin, and soft tissue cancers, as well as lymphomas and leukemias.

The Department of Radiation Oncology at Los Angeles General Medical Center is extensively equipped with Varian linear accelerators (21EXs) with EPID (MV Imagers). There are Eclipse planning stations, contouring planning systems, and a Varian Acuity verification simulator. Also, a GE CT Light Speed Scanner, VarSource (Varian HDR), and an ARIA Record & Verify System. Residents at Los Angeles General Medical Center will be trained in IMRT techniques, 3-D conformal radiotherapy, and clinical brachytherapy utilizing both low dose-rate (LDR) and high dose-rate (HDR).

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and USC Norris Cancer Hospital

USC NCCC and USC NH are part of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and are major regional and national resources for cancer research, treatment, prevention and education. They are located just a short walk from Los Angeles General Medical Center. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has designated the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center as one of the nation’s 40 comprehensive cancer centers, a select group of institutions providing leadership in cancer treatment, research, prevention and education.

The USC Department of Radiation Oncology at USC Norris Cancer Hospital is one of the most modern in Southern California, operating a state-of the-art Varian Trilogy linear accelerator, capable of Intensity Modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) with respiratory gating, Cone-Beam CT, and Rapid Arc capability. There is also a Varian Clinac 2300C/D linear accelerator with IMRT capability. USC Norris Cancer Hospital also houses the Accuray Cyberknife® Radiosurgical System which is used for stereotactic body radiotherapy and radiosurgery for tumors on the brain, spine, lung, liver, and prostate. For radiotherapy simulation, it uses a Philips MRC 800 Big Bore CT scanner.  The hospital also employs a Varian VariSource high dose-rate brachytherapy unit. A variety of highly advanced treatment planning computer systems are used, including the ADAC Pinnacle 3-D planning system, the Varian Eclipse planning system, and others which are a direct outgrowth of the pioneering clinical and physics research efforts of the USC Radiation Oncology Faculty. True 3-D virtual simulation and isodose planning, allowing for 3-D conformal radiotherapy and intensity modulated radiotherapy treatments, are routinely employed. The department also has the BSD 2000 Sigma-60 hyperthermia device, in addition to other, specialized treatment devices manufactured in-house.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

(CHLA) is recognized for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. It has grown into one of the world’s finest pediatric academic medical centers, due in large part to its 75-year association with the Keck School of Medicine of USC. CHLA is the region’s largest referral center for children in critical condition who need life-saving care.

Although separately governed, there is active cooperation and collaboration between CHLA and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The leaders of both institutions recognize that the next wave of medical advances will require a multidisciplinary alliance of traditional medicine in conjunction with physics, mathematics, engineering, information technology and many other disciplines. Both organizations work together to launch groundbreaking programs that benefit both the Southern California community and pediatric medicine at large.