Prostate Cancer Patient First in Spain to Receive Fast and Precise RapidArc(R) Radiotherapy Treatment from Varian

BARCELONA, Spain, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Clinicians at Institut Catala d'Oncologia (ICO) in Barcelona have carried out the first treatment in Spain using RapidArc® radiotherapy from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). A 73-year-old prostate cancer patient from Barcelona has become the first patient in the country to receive the fast and efficient treatment.

"The treatment went very well and the patient really noticed the time difference compared with previous treatments," said Dr. Ferran Guedea, head of the radiation oncology department. "It's very important to deliver the dose as quickly as possible, which makes it a better experience for the patient. Fast dose delivery is especially important in organs such as the prostate that are prone to move during treatment."

"We are extremely pleased to be able to offer the latest in radiotherapy to our patients," adds Dr. Guedea. "We believe RapidArc is an enormous leap forward in precise radiotherapy treatments, enabling us to offer a precise and personalized treatment in shorter time." He said early RapidArc treatments would focus on patients with prostate, head & neck and brain tumors, as well as any patients with tumors located close to sensitive organs.

RapidArc delivers a volumetric intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment in a single or multiple arcs of the treatment machine around the patient and makes it possible to deliver advanced image-guided IMRT two to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT. Since its introduction, Varian has installed more than 410 RapidArc systems in cancer centers globally.  

ICO, a group of three public university-affiliated teaching hospitals, delivers cancer treatments on ten Varian linear accelerators, all equipped with multi-leaf collimators for conformal radiotherapy treatments. In November, RapidArc was installed on one of these treatment machines, a Varian Trilogy® medical linear accelerator, at the Hospitalet de Llobregat in Barcelona, the largest of the three ICO centers serving 1.3 million inhabitants in the Catalonia region.

"We strive to keep the ICO at the leading-edge of cancer treatment and this technology is an important step forward in the battle against cancer," says Dr. Guedea.

Maria Cruz Lizuian, head of medical physics at the ICO, says, "As the main reference center for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the region, we are delighted to begin offering this advanced treatment for patients both in Catalonia and throughout Spain. By offering these fast and efficient treatments, we will be able to offer more patients advanced image-guided and intensity-modulated treatments."

Adolfo Carvajal, the sales director for Varian Iberia, adds, "The ICO group is at the forefront of cutting-edge cancer treatments and we are delighted to be working with them to bring these precise and fast treatments to patients in Spain. More and more hospitals are selecting RapidArc as a way of delivering advanced and precise treatments without putting pressure on waiting lists."    

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, Europe, and China and approximately 79 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com.

Published papers on this topic:

Kjaer-Kristoffersen F., Ohlhues L., Medin J., Korreman S. RapidArc volumetric modulated therapy planning for prostate cancer patients. Acta Oncology. 2008:48 (2): 227-32

Using Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy. International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics 1 Sept. 2009: 253-259. ScienceDirect. Web. 26 Oct. 2009

Palma D., Vollans E., James K., Nakano S., Moiseenko V, Shaffer R., McKenzie M., Morris J., Otto K. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy for Delivery of Prostate Radiotherapy: Comparison With Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy and Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, Volume 72, Issue 4, 15 November 2008, Pages 996-1001

Zhang P., Happersett L., Hunt M., Jackson A., Zelefsky M., Mageras G. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy: Planning and Evaluation for Prostate Cancer Cases. International Journal of radiation Oncology*Biology* Physics, [Epub ahead of print]

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems, Inc.