Loyola Named a VHL Clinical Care Center for Patients with Hereditary Kidney Cancers

MAYWOOD, IL – Living with a genetic disorder that calls for regular monitoring, appropriate treatment and emotional support requires a multidisciplinary team that works together to coordinate patient care. Those diagnosed with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease have a resource for that complete and coordinated care at Loyola University Medical Center, which was recently named a VHL Clinical Care Center by the VHL Alliance.

"The VHL Alliance is proud to recognize Loyola Medicine as a VHL Clinical Care Center. The team at Loyola is well positioned to provide coordinated expert care and support to the VHL community of Greater Chicagoland and beyond," says Chandra Clark, MEd, VHL Alliance Executive Director. "We are excited to continue to work with some of the best medical professionals in the world and look forward to a fruitful partnership."

A rare hereditary condition, VHL occurs as tumors that can appear in up to 10 areas in the body. While all people are born with two copies of the VHL gene, an altered copy can lead to the growth of cysts and tumors. The disease appears differently in each person — tumors can grow unpredictably over time and cause life-changing problems due to location and size. Though most tumors are noncancerous, patients with VHL have a high risk of developing kidney cancer as well as tumors of the adrenal gland and pancreas.

Because VHL can affect so many different organ systems, it takes numerous experts across multiple disease sites and disciplines to keep track of a patient’s care plan. Loyola Medicine takes this comprehensive and personalized approach. A patient navigator helps guide patients through the steps needed for attentive surveillance to monitor any new or changing tumors, ensuring that those patients are seen by the necessary specialists.

"Patients with VHL have complex medical needs, as the condition affects various organs," says Gopal Gupta, MD, FACS. "Loyola Medicine has a multidisciplinary team of fellowship-trained physicians who are experienced in treating this condition in order to provide the best possible care."