Liver cancer patients among the first to receive treatment using fast, precise new system optimized for radiosurgery
TAICHUNG, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors at the Cheng Ching General Hospital here have begun treating liver cancer with image-guided radiosurgery using a new TrueBeam™ STx system from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR). The hospital has developed a program for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common type of liver cancer that is widespread in Asia.
"With TrueBeam STx, we can generate images of the tumor during the treatment, and use them to adapt the treatment in 'real-time.' This helps us to better target the liver tumor and minimize exposure of nearby critical organs like the duodenum or the stomach," said Dr. Po-Ming Wang, chief radiation oncologist at the hospital.
Dr. Wang is an expert in treating HCC, which is globally the third leading cause of cancer mortality after lung and stomach cancer, and a significant problem in Taiwan, mainland China, and other parts of Asia.1
The new TrueBeam system at Cheng Ching General Hospital is the first in Taiwan. Over the previous four years, Dr. Wang and his colleagues treated difficult cases of HCC using an earlier generation of Varian technology. They have gained wide experience with approaches like intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for shaping the treatment beam to match the shape of the tumor, and RapidArc® radiotherapy, for delivering advanced treatments very quickly.
The new TrueBeam STx will continue to enable IMRT and RapidArc treatments, but with greater precision and higher dose delivery rates that make it possible to complete advanced treatments in less time. Dr. Wang is especially excited about the Gated RapidArc capabilities of the new TrueBeam STx machine, which use technology to monitor a patient's breathing and compensate for tumor motion during RapidArc treatments. "We anticipate using Gated RapidArc to deliver highly precise radiosurgical procedures for colorectal, liver, and lung tumors," Dr. Wang said.
Varian's TrueBeam was designed to treat tumors with unprecedented speed and accuracy. It features many technical innovations that dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. With its High Intensity Mode, a TrueBeam machine can deliver very high doses quickly and accurately, more than twice as fast as earlier generations of technology. The TrueBeam STx is a high-end model optimized for radiosurgical applications, where very large doses are delivered in a single treatment or only a few sessions.
"This hospital has a long history of pioneering radiotherapy treatments for HCC," said Professor King-Jen Chang, Superintendent of Cheng Ching General Hospital. "We have great experience developed treating HCC over the past 14 years. This was one of the first hospitals in Taiwan to introduce RapidArc four years ago, and we have now become the first to offer TrueBeam treatments. Our multidisciplinary team will use our TrueBeam STx machine to treat all forms of cancer, especially those that involve tumor motion during treatment, like cancer of the liver and lung. We are pleased to be using the most state-of-the-art techniques for the benefit of our patients."
About Cheng Ching General Hospital
Cheng Ching General Hospital is a 1000 bed teaching hospital, providing both acute and long term healthcare services. Cheng Ching General Hospital has two branches in Taichung, Ping Tien and Chung Kang, offering services to the whole region of Taiwan. Cheng Ching General Hospital operates based on the fundamental spirit of "treating patients like family, emphasizing dedication to professional work and to serving our customers with loving care." The Hospital continues to seek innovative, progressive, and diversified exchanges in medical technology, medical knowledge, and medical equipment. Continuous efforts in the training of new physicians, contributing to research progress, and promoting community health are all reasons for Cheng Ching General Hospital's national reputation for providing the highest quality, and most comprehensive medical care.
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 6,100 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.
1 World Cancer Report 2008, Boyle P & Levin P eds., World Health Organization: International Agency for Research on Cancer; Lyon, France http://www.iarc.fr/en/publications/pdfs-online/wcr/2008/wcr_2008.pdf
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