Yashoda Cancer Institute Treats First Patient in India Using RapidArc Radiotherapy...

Yashoda Cancer Institute Treats First Patient in India Using RapidArc
Radiotherapy Technology

HYDERABAD, India, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinicians in India have carried
out the country's first treatment using a new, faster form of radiotherapy
that extends more advanced care to more patients. A 72-year-old bladder cancer
patient received the pioneering treatment using RapidArc radiotherapy
technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) at Yashoda Cancer Institute
in Hyderabad.

Varian's RapidArc technology makes it possible to deliver image-guided IMRT
(intensity modulated radiotherapy) two to eight times faster than is possible
with conventional IMRT. RapidArc delivers a precise and efficient treatment in
single or multiple arcs of the treatment machine around the patient and offers
several advantages over traditional approaches, according to clinician Dr.
Srinivas Chilikuri.

"The whole treatment duration including set-up and check was completed in ten
minutes, which involved just 90 seconds of 'beam-on' time," said Dr.
Chilikuri. "We witnessed high dose conformity, excellent target coverage and
good critical tissue sparing but the main advantage was the speed of the
treatment."

Dr. Chilikuri said speed is particularly important because of the large number
of cancer patients in India. "In a country like ours with a heavy cancer
burden there is a real issue with waiting lists," he said. "We deal with this
by prioritising and optimizing treatment facilities and RapidArc is an
excellent example of this approach. With this, we can carry out faster and
more precise treatments with less complex delivery and less complicated
quality assurance requirements.

"The whole point of acquiring RapidArc was to treat more and more patients
with high precision technology. With RapidArc's fast and efficient treatment
delivery we will significantly increase the number of patients treated with
advanced conformal techniques."

Dr. Chilikuri said the clinical team at Yashoda plans to use RapidArc for a
variety of common cancers such as head & neck, cervical, prostate and lung, as
well as complicated tumors which are otherwise difficult to treat with other
techniques.

Yashoda Cancer Institute is an international quality 200 bed comprehensive
cancer research and treatment center operated by Yashoda Hospitals. The cancer
institute provides healthcare to 7,000 cancer patients every year. A
comprehensive cancer center with state-of-the-art technology, the hospital
treats patients from south and east India, South Asia and the Middle East.
Dheeraj Gorukanti, chief executive officer of Yashoda Hospitals Group, said,
"Yashoda Hospitals is proud to be one of the first sites in the world to
implement Varian's RapidArc system. We believe it will provide a real edge in
helping patients fight cancer."

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 5,100 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, Inc.

Neil Madle of Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068