Major Medical Center in India is Country's First to Offer Fast Arc-based Radiation Therapy Technique for Patients With Cancer

NEW DELHI, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In Medanta Cancer Institute's first two Elekta VMAT cases, physicians were able to simultaneously exploit both the precision and speed benefits of this novel technique. Both patients had cranial tumors located near critical structures—requiring precise targeting of the tumor—and both were inclined to move if the radiation treatment beams were not delivered quickly.

"VMAT is particularly useful for patients who can't lie still for an extended time, where any movement can impair radiation delivery," says Tejinder Kataria, M.D., Chairperson of the Radiation Oncology department at Medanta Cancer Institute, part of Medanta – The Medicity (Gurgaon, Haryana, India), among India's largest multi-specialty medical centers. "It also is beneficial for patients undergoing re-irradiation, as the sharp fall-off dose close to previously treated fields can be achieved, in addition to patients whose tumors are located near critical structures."

Medanta's first Elekta VMAT patient was a male with a sinus tumor that had recurred near the site of a tumor that doctors treated during the patient's infancy. For the first lesion, he received radiation therapy and underwent surgical removal of one of his eyes. "We had the difficult task of preserving the vision in his remaining eye and maintaining his mental function, as the new tumor was lying very close to the brain," Dr. Kataria explains. "VMAT gave us the required sharpness of dose gradient for planning Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy [IMRT], as well as rapid treatment delivery to maintain the patient in the same position during therapy. For the 25 therapy sessions, each single arc treatment took just over two minutes of beam delivery time."

The second Elekta VMAT patient was a 58-year-old man with a brain stem glioma involving the pons. The tumor was situated within the critical pathway of nerve signal transmission between the brain and spinal cord, a site that also serves as the center for important neural functions. "Planning with VMAT gave us the confidence that the high dose target volume will conform to the brain stem without compromising the nearby vital cranial nerves, spinal cord or pharyngeal pathways," she says. "The patient had to wear a mesh facial mask to immobilize his head during treatment, but since the VMAT beam delivery took less than five minutes to deliver for each of his five sessions, the patient was able to tolerate the treatment well without moving."

According to Dr. Kataria, the use of Elekta VMAT has reduced the radiation delivery time from approximately 22 minutes to 2-3 minutes. Dr. Kataria anticipates that using Elekta VMAT in simpler cases also will help reduce beam delivery times even further—down to 80 to 90 seconds in some instances.

Since early September, when Medanta Cancer Institute initiated its Elekta VMAT service, clinicians have started therapy for an additional five patients, treating brain and neck lesions (glioma, metastases, oligodendroglioma, pyriform sinus*), in addition to an endometrial tumor.

Medanta performs its Elekta VMAT treatments on an Elekta Infinity system, the first installation of this advanced linear accelerator in India. The medical center will establish a frameless Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) service, also the country's first, which will enable treatment of lung or liver tumors in less than 20 minutes.

"Today, there are just a few hundred advanced cancer treatment machines to serve a population of 1.1 billion people," Dr. Kataria notes. "But Medanta and other major medical centers in India are beginning to acquire cancer care technology rapidly, which will help increase access to sophisticated therapy techniques."

*Approval of indications may vary between different countries and additional regulatory clearances may be required in some markets.

About Elekta VMAT

With Elekta VMAT the treatment gantry—the part of the machine from which radiation beams originate—is in constant motion, with single or multiple gantry arc(s) sweeping around the patient. During these arc(s), the radiation intensity is continuously varied and modulated. This ensures a computer controlled delivery, according to the anatomical and tumor characteristics of the patient and the dose prescription. Using dynamic gantry arcs, Elekta VMAT can result in significantly reduced treatment times, while providing a more personalized treatment. In conventional "fixed gantry" therapy, the gantry makes several stops, which add to the overall treatment time and result in a longer session.

About Elekta

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta