Brain Cancer Patients at Two Leading Hospitals Treated Using Fast and Efficient RapidArc...

Brain Cancer Patients at Two Leading Hospitals Treated Using Fast and
Efficient RapidArc Radiotherapy Technology from Varian Medical Systems
RapidArc Used to Deliver Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two leading cancer
centers have carried out groundbreaking radiosurgery treatments for multiple
brain metastases using new RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian
Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). The MIMA Cancer Center in Melbourne, Florida and
VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands were each able to treat
brain metastases more quickly and efficiently than would have previously been
possible.
Stereotactic radiosurgery is used to quickly eradicate tumors by targeting
them with high doses of radiation using precisely-shaped, image-guided, X-ray
beams in just one to five treatment sessions. Varian's RapidArc, which targets
treatment beams at tumors while rotating continuously around the patient,
makes it possible to complete stereotactic radiosurgery sessions many times
faster than conventional techniques that use stationary beams.
At VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, doctors used a
RapidArc-equipped linear accelerator from Varian to treat six patients with
multiple brain metastases, delivering in a single plan a combination of whole
brain radiotherapy with a stereotactic integrated boost, an extra measure of
dose that is focused directly on the multiple tumors. "Our experiences to date
have demonstrated that RapidArc appears to be excellent for stereotactic
radiosurgery," says Dr. Frank Lagerwaard of VU Medical Center.
The patients, all of whom had developed multiple brain metastases stemming
from primary lung or breast cancer, received their high-dose treatment over
five sessions. "The total time needed for patients to enter and leave the
treatment room has decreased to less than 15 minutes as we gain experience,"
adds Dr. Lagerwaard. "In these treatments the 'delivery' time was just 210
seconds per session." By comparison, conventional stereotactic treatment of
three brain metastases using multiple dynamic conformal arcs takes more than
50 minutes from first beam on to last beam off, according to Dr. Lagerwaard.
At MIMA, Dr. Todd Scarbrough and his team treated a 77-year-old man with a
history of small-cell lung cancer who had recently developed a brain
metastasis. "Given his smoking and lung cancer history he was not considered a
candidate for conventional neurosurgery," says Dr. Scarbrough. "We felt fast,
non-invasive radiosurgery would be easier on this patient."
Joseph Ting, PhD, medical physicist, compared a RapidArc radiosurgery
treatment plan with a non-coplanar IMRT plan using 14 stationary beams, which
is how this patient would have been treated prior to RapidArc's availability.
"We were delighted to see that the RapidArc plan actually conformed the
dose more closely to the size, shape and location of the tumor and could be
delivered in three minutes instead of the 40 minutes needed for the 14-beam
plan," Scarbrough said. The treatment was completed in four sessions over a
four-day period.
Dr. Scarbrough adds, "Our plan is to use RapidArc any time the treatment
plan gives us a dose distribution that is equal to or better than what we can
get with standard IMRT, because RapidArc is so much faster. And that's much
better for our patients."
In the August 15, 2008, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, (published
online August 12) researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center
report that targeted radiation therapy had completely controlled all signs of
cancer in 21 percent of patients who had five or fewer sites of metastatic
disease.
Treatment planning analyses show that RapidArc matches or exceeds the
precision of conventional IMRT systems and spares more of the healthy tissue
surrounding the tumor. Unrelated clinical studies on radiotherapy correlate
the ability to spare more healthy tissue with reduced complications and better
outcomes.
Studies Revealed at AAPM
VU Medical Center's studies into the use of Varian RapidArc plans for
brain metastases and other key tumor sites were showcased at this year's
American Association of Physics in Medicine (AAPM) show in Houston in July.
Delivered using a Varian linear accelerator and measured in a solid water
phantom, the 25 resulting film measurements showed high agreement with
calculations, the VU team concluded. "RapidArc accurately delivers the planned
dose distributions," stated Dr. Wilko Verbakel, medical physicist at VU
Medical Center.
Dr. Ben Slotman, head of the radiation oncology department of VU
University medical center said the hospital, among the first in Europe to
introduce Varian's RapidArc, began clinical treatments using this fast and
efficient form of volumetric modulated arc therapy in early May and more than
20 patients have so far been treated using the capability. "In the first few
months we used RapidArc to replace IMRT treatments for head & neck, brain and
prostate tumors but from September onwards RapidArc will replace all
conventional IMRT," said Dr. Slotman. "Treatment planning is at least as good,
and sometimes even better, than with conventional IMRT and planning and
delivery using RapidArc is significantly faster."
Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's
leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and
other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 4,800 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 sales and
support offices around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/
SOURCE Varian Medical Systems

Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44-7786-526068