ATLANTA, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In treating tumors near the spinal cord with radiation therapy, the key is to hit the tumor with the treatment beams and avoid exposing the spinal cord to damaging levels of radiation. Satisfying both requirements using conventional treatment technology can be difficult in many cases, often leaving doctors with no choice but to withhold treatment. Today, the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center (Gainesville, Fla., USA) offers patients with spine tumors new hope for beating cancer with a sophisticated new radiation treatment machine that enables more confident targeting of lesions near the spine.
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"Elekta is proud to have the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center (UFSCC) as an Elekta Strategic Partner, one that is clearly dedicated to improving patients' quality of life and the fight against serious disease," says Rajinder Singh Dhada, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships.
In November, University of Florida radiation oncologists at UFSCC used their Elekta Synergy(R) S radiation treatment system with X-ray Volume Image Guidance in its first spine tumor patient, a case that would not have been attempted using a conventional treatment machine.
"A standard radiation therapy unit can't tell you if there has been organ movement inside patients or if patients are in exactly the same position that they were in when you planned the treatment. It makes targeting the radiation beams very challenging," says Robert Amdur, M.D., a UF College of Medicine professor and radiation oncologist at the UFSCC. "In the past we had to use a large safety margin around the tumor or a much lower, less therapeutic dose, or both to avoid giving an excessive dose to the spinal cord. Often, if the lesion is very close to the spinal cord, we may decide not to use radiation therapy at all."
The UFSCC's first patient treated with the Elekta Synergy(R) S had a sarcoma, a primary tumor, located near his spine, Dr. Amdur says. The patient had 25 separate, 15-minute treatments (fractions) for his tumor. Another patient who had a refractory Hodgkin's lesion near his spine was treated with a single fraction, high-dose treatment demonstrating the high accuracy and flexibility of Elekta Synergy(R) S.
Imaging technology "sees" targets
The system is the first clinical product of a new class of Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) systems, which use imaging technology to enhance target localization before treatment. Elekta Synergy(R) S, built on Elekta's advanced digital linear accelerator, integrates a 3D imaging system that enables doctors to obtain "cone beam CT" images of patients just before treatment. This capability allows physicians to visualize tumors at the point of treatment to more precisely target tumors with radiation beams. The Elekta Synergy(R) S employs the powerful imaging capabilities in VolumeView imaging to precisely locate targets within 3D space, both inside and outside of the head.
Elekta Synergy(R) S includes the small field precision Beam Modulator(R), a device that conforms the radiation beam to the tumor - matching the beam's shape to the tumor's shape. Patient movement during treatment is minimized by positioning the patient in a body mold and by monitoring movement with an infrared camera system.
Elekta Synergy(R) S complements the most advanced radiotherapy methods Sophisticated treatment techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) are well-suited for delivery on Elekta Synergy(R) S. "We will use IMRT on all these spine cases," Dr. Amdur says. "IMRT is a highly targeted form of radiation therapy that 'paints' radiation doses of varying intensity on a tumor target - with higher doses at the tumor center and steeply falling doses closer to the tumor's outer edges. This IMRT "dose distribution" is highly customized to the tumor's shape, resulting in the best possible balance between cancer killing and the sparing of nearby normal tissues and critical organs. The main challenge in IMRT, however, has been uncertainty about the tumor's precise location. The benefit of Elekta Synergy(R) S is that imaging the patient just before treatment allows delivery of IMRT with much greater accuracy and clinical confidence."
"We're hoping that Elekta Synergy(R) S will represent a major advance for a class of patients that didn't previously have very hopeful treatment options," Dr. Amdur says.
About UF Shands Cancer Center
The University of Florida Shands Cancer Center is a nationally recognized cancer center, employing nearly 300 clinicians and scientists, in addition to hundreds of research assistants, nurses, technicians and staff at its Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses. Multidisciplinary teams from the colleges in the Health Science Center, including the College of Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Public Health & Health Professions, work in collaboration to speed discovery and treatment options for individuals diagnosed with cancer. Members of the Center are world-renowned experts who have participated in the research and development of many of the diagnostic and treatment methods used as standard medical practice today. The UF Shands Cancer Center treats more than 4,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients and handles more than 6,000 admissions annually.
About Elekta
Elekta is an international medical-technology group, providing meaningful clinical solutions, comprehensive information systems and services for improved cancer care and management of brain disorders. All of Elekta's solutions employ non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques and are therefore clinically effective, gentle on the patient and cost-effective.
Clinical solutions include Leksell Gamma Knife(R) for non-invasive treatment of brain disorders and Elekta Synergy(R) for image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Following the acquisition of IMPAC Medical Systems Inc. in April 2005, and Medical Intelligence in December 2005, the Elekta Group became the world's largest supplier of oncology software.
Elekta's systems and solutions are used in over 3,000 hospitals around the world to treat cancer and to manage clinical operations as well as to diagnose and treat brain disorders, including tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders.
With approximately 1,700 employees, Elekta's corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the ticker EKTAb.
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