MUNICH, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Clinicians at the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center (RPTC) in Munich have treated their 100th patient using advanced proton therapy systems supplied by Varian Medical Systems . The landmark treatment comes just three months after a second treatment gantry was commissioned at the center, which offers advanced pencil-beam proton scanning to cancer patients.
A typical pediatric treatment involved a seven-year-old girl suffering from a malignant blastoma in the upper neck area. “The tumor was too large for surgery and had continued growing during chemotherapy, so proton therapy seemed the best treatment option,” says Professor Manfred Herbst, medical director at RPTC. “She has tolerated the therapy extremely well - the tumor was obstructing her nose but her breathing has improved as the tumor has shrunk, and she had no difficulty in swallowing. Also, due to the unique properties of proton scanning we were able to spare the left parotid gland from exposure during treatment and she did not suffer from ‘dry mouth,’ where it is difficult to produce saliva. Her mother has reported that the girl has already become stronger and more active during the course of therapy.”
Patients at RPTC are currently treated in two gantry rooms, each equipped to offer state-of-the-art pencil-beam proton scanning. When completed, the center will comprise a total of four gantry rooms and one fixed-beam room, the latter of which will specialize in treating delicate tumors such as small head, neck and eye cancers and tumors close to the spinal cord. The two additional gantry rooms are due to be ready for clinical treatment during 2010.
Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068
About the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center
The Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Munich is the first fully certified proton radiation center in Europe, offering a complete hospital setting with five treatment rooms (gantries) for 4000 patients per year. This euro 150 Million facility was established at the initiative of Munich physician Dr. Hans Rinecker PhD and is equipped with some of the most modern and precise proton therapy equipment available worldwide. Sophisticated MRI, CT and PET-CT systems offer precise diagnostics for 3D proton radiation therapy planning. For more information, visit www.rptc.de
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
