Brain Cancer Patients at Two Leading Hospitals Treated Using Fast and Efficient RapidArc Radiotherapy Technology from Varian Medic...( RapidArc Used to Deliver Stereotact...)

RapidArc Used to Deliver Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two leading cancer centers have carried out groundbreaking radiosurgery treatments for multiple brain metastases using new RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). The MIMA Cancer Center in Melbourne, Florida and VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands were each able to treat brain metastases more quickly and efficiently than would have previously been possible.

Stereotactic radiosurgery is used to quickly eradicate tumors by targeting them with high doses of radiation using precisely-shaped, image-guided, X-ray beams in just one to five treatment sessions. Varian's RapidArc, which targets treatment beams at tumors while rotating continuously around the patient, makes it possible to complete stereotactic radiosurgery sessions many times faster than conventional techniques that use stationary beams.

At VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, doctors used a RapidArc-equipped linear accelerator from Varian to treat six patients with multiple brain metastases, delivering in a single plan a combination of whole brain radiotherapy with a stereotactic integrated boost, an extra measure of dose that is focused directly on the multiple tumors. "Our experiences to date have demonstrated that RapidArc appears to be excellent for stereotactic radiosurgery," says Dr. Frank Lagerwaard of VU Medical Center.

The patients, all of whom had developed multiple brain metastases stemming from primary lung or breast cancer, received their high-dose treatment over five sessions. "The total time needed for patients to enter and leave the treatment room has decreased
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