Lifespan Cancer Institute

Interventional Oncology

Interventional Oncology (IO) is one of the newest treatment approaches to be integrated into the comprehensive care plans that are individually designed for our patients at the Lifespan Cancer Institute

Patient speaking with a doctor

Contact Interventional Oncology

For more information, or for a consultation, please call:

Derek Tessier 
Phone: 401-444-5707
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 401-444-3486

Interventional oncology physicians perform targeted treatments for tumors in the lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, and other tissues.

Interventional oncology delivers the treatment where it’s needed the most — directly to areas where cancer is growing. IO physicians can treat a patient’s cancer with higher doses of chemotherapy or radiation than can be tolerated by patients who receive non-targeted (“systemic”) intravenous treatments. 

Precise delivery of treatment to the site of the cancer rather than throughout the body results in a more potent treatment with fewer side effects. IO treatments are commonly associated with less pain and shorter recovery times than surgery, and less nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or hair loss than most traditional IV chemotherapy regimens. IO’s minimally invasive approach allows most treatments to be performed on an outpatient basis.

The Role of Interventional Oncology in the Fight Against Cancer

Since 1997, Lifespan has been a world leader in pioneering new ways of using image-guided tumor ablation to treat cancer patients who aren’t good candidates for surgery. Depending on a patient’s general health and their cancer, IO treatments may be performed to achieve a cure, to reduce tumors and preserve organ function, or  to reduce or eliminate symptoms caused by cancer and to improve quality of life.

The Interventional Oncology Clinic at Lifespan is part of the department of medical imaging, and a subdivision of interventional radiology. This clinic, dedicated to the compassionate care of patients who have cancer, is unique in Rhode Island. At the Lifespan Cancer Institute, interventional oncology has joined medical oncology, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology as a crucial treatment option for many patients in our collaborative fight against cancer.

Our IO physicians are all board-certified radiologists with additional specialized procedural training and a certificate of added qualification (CAQ) issued by the American Board of Radiology that allows them to perform image-guided vascular and non-vascular treatments for a wide range of diseases. All members of our team are on the faculty of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, contributors to national or international cancer research, and influential in the medical education of our next generation of physicians.

Learn more about the Lifespan Cancer Institute