HCG Ahmedabad Becomes First Hospital in India to Deliver Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments Using TrueBeam

AHMEDABAD, India, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A 65-year-old breast cancer patient has become the first person in India to be treated using the fast and precise TrueBeam™ radiotherapy treatment system from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR). In a treatment carried out at HCG (Health Care Global) Ahmedabad, the patient received accelerated partial breast irradiation which allowed her treatment course to be completed in a week instead of the usual five weeks required with previous Varian technology.

"The patient was saved from visiting hospital for five full weeks," says radiation oncologist Dr. Vivek Bansal. "As the TrueBeam treatment involved high dose rates delivered twice a day, the clinical team needed to be certain that the intended dose was delivered to the right area. A high degree of accuracy and good quality imaging helped ensure successful completion of the treatment."

Dr. Bansal said shorter treatment times, high quality imaging, and greater throughput were all significant benefits for patients and the clinical team at HCG Ahmedabad. The center, which added radiotherapy to existing surgical and chemotherapy services a month ago, is the first private cancer hospital in Ahmedabad offering both diagnostic and treatment facilities for cancer under one roof. Its patients come from across Gujarat and neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, as well as from outside India.

Dr. Bansal and his team intend to use the TrueBeam device, which was installed in October, to deliver advanced radiotherapy techniques such as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) treatments, as well as carrying out clinical studies and research programs.

"We plan to use TrueBeam to carry out a number of treatments which, as with this first patient, will reduce the length of treatment time as well as enabling overall treatment courses to be carried out in a week rather than several weeks," adds Dr. Bansal. "It provides a possibility to address difficult-to-treat cancers such as lung cancer and liver cancer with radiotherapy." 

Designed to advance the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, gynaecologic, liver, head and neck, and other types of cancer, the TrueBeam platform for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery is a fully-integrated radiotherapy system designed from the ground up to treat a moving target, such as a tumor, with speed and precision. It features a High Intensity Mode*—one of six dose levels available to doctors with the TrueBeam platform—for customizing dose delivery based on a patient's specific tumor characteristics.

Dinesh Madhavan, director of marketing at HCG, says the private healthcare group has some bold expansion plans involving TrueBeam devices. "We have a clear strategy to introduce TrueBeam devices at four more cities in India and also one site overseas," he explains.

Michael Sandhu, Vice President and head of Varian's International Oncology Systems business, says, "HCG is committed to offering world-class radiotherapy treatments in Gujarat state and beyond, and we are delighted to be working closely with this leading cancer treatment provider."

"With the largest installed base of linear accelerators in India, Varian continues to equip the country's cancer hospitals with technologies that make advanced radiotherapy techniques fast, safe and easy to deliver," adds Sandhu. "We have also established a dedicated education center in Mumbai because helping to train the nation's radiotherapists and physicists in the safe and effective use of Varian's products is crucial for the future care of India's growing cancer population."

India has a population of over a billion people and there are an estimated one million new cases of cancer diagnosed in the country each year. The most common forms of cancer for females in India are cervical and breast, while lung and stomach are the leading cancers for males.

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, 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 5,700 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

* High Intensity Mode has yet to receive clearance in India but it is cleared by the FDA, has CE marking and has regulatory clearances in all other major markets.

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems