Integra LifeSciences Introduces InterFix Radiosurgery Kit for Use With TomoTherapy Radiation Treatment Systems

PLAINSBORO, N.J., Feb. 28, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings
Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) announced today that its subsidiary, Integra Radionics, Inc.,
has launched the InterFix(TM) Radiosurgery Kit for use with TomoTherapy(R) radiation
treatment systems. The InterFix(TM) Radiosurgery Kit provides a way to adapt the
existing Integra Radionics(TM) stereotactic hardware to the TomoTherapy(R) Hi-Art(R)
system for stereotactic treatment of cranial tumors and vascular malformations. The
InterFix(TM) Radiosurgery Kit has received FDA clearance in the United States, as well as
CE Mark Certification in the European Union.

Integra Radionics has a long history in stereotactic surgery, with the CRW(TM) stereotactic
system for neurosurgery, and the XKnife(TM) system for stereotactic radiosurgery. Its
research and development team worked extensively with TomoTherapy to develop a means
to utilize the industry-leading Radionics(TM) stereotactic tools with the Hi-Art(TM) treatment system

source: Prime Newswire

Pin Point Radiotherapy Procedure Proved Success For Breast Cancer

A large scale trial conducted at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan has proved a novel radiotherapy procedure to be a great success both in terms of medical results and cost effectiveness.

The study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal ecancermedicalscience, examined the use of Electron Intraoperative Therapy (ELIOT), which shortens the radiotherapy course from six weeks to one single session during surgery.

The conventional treatment for early breast cancer is breast conserving surgery (BCS) followed by a 5-7 week course of radiotherapy. However many women still undergo mastectomy because they do not have easy access to postoperative radiotherapy centres.

source: MediLexicon

Radiation therapy facility moratorium bill moves forward (MN)

MINNEAPOLIS, February 27, 2008 - A bill calling for a permanent moratorium on the construction of independent radiation therapy facilities was passed by the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Policy Committee on Feb. 20.

The bill (S.F. 2667, H.F. 3265) would make permanent the moratorium, which currently expires in 2013, on construction of any new radiation therapy facilities in a 14-county area encompassing Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Washington, Anoka, Carver, Scott, St. Louis, Sherburne, Benton, Stearns, Chisago, Isanti and Wright counties.

source: Minnesota Medical Association

Study Finds Variations in Doses of Radiation Therapy

Canadian Press: Amanda Gardner, Healthday Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) - Procedures to carry out a highly refined, complex radiation treatment for killing tumors and sparing healthy tissue may vary more widely from one medical center to the next than previously thought, a new study suggests.

"This study raises a very large and serious problem for the radiation oncology community because you cannot compare doses and hence clinical outcome between treatment centers," said study lead author Indra J. Das, a professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pennsylvania.

complete article at CBC News

New standards needed for radiation therapy

Modern radiation techniques result in substantial variation between the prescribed dose and the actual dose of radiation delivered to the tumor, according to a study published online February 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. As a result of this newly uncovered trend, the authors are calling for national guidelines for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

IMRT systems are designed to deliver the prescribed dose of radiation to a tumor while sparing surrounding tissues. IMRT does this by delivering many small beams of radiation that are individually controlled. Because of the complexity of the system, radiation oncologists and physicists rely on special software and equipment to deliver the planned dose over the treatment area.

source article

Harris Corporation Teams with Cancer Treatment Services International to Advance Oncology Treatment

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HIMSS, Booth #1841 -- Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has joined forces with Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) to advance the quality and delivery of radiation oncology. Harris will provide advanced imaging and information systems that assure critical medical information is delivered with accuracy, speed, security and privacy.

"We believe Harris' expertise in image processing and enterprise intelligence will significantly advance radiation oncology," said Dr. Jeff Shogan, MD and chairman of CTSI. "Our collaboration with Harris will enhance our ability to deliver the highest quality cancer treatment services to more people, more effectively."

source: Rehab Management

NIU proton research center to get hearing

By JONATHAN BILYK

Northern Illinois University hopes to get a green light from state planners this week for its plan to bring a new option for cancer treatment to the region.


Representatives of NIU will go before the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board on Tuesday for a hearing on the university’s request to build its proposed Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center.

The treatment and research center is proposed to be the first-of-its-kind in the upper Midwest, using a proton accelerator to treat a variety of cancers. The center would be built in the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago contiguous to the northern boundary of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which in the late 1980s developed the first proton-therapy accelerator for use in cancer treatment, according to the proton treatment and research center’s Web site.

source: Kane County Chronicle

Radiation Therapist

Radiation therapy involves the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer within the human body. It is the job of the radiation therapist to assist the radiation oncologist (a physician specializing in treating cancer with radiation) in the application of treatment by exposing specific areas of the patients body to prescribed dosages of radiation. The primary responsibilities of the radiation therapist are operation of the therapeutic equipment, proper patient positioning, monitoring of the patient during the procedure, and related clerical duties. Due to the nature of radiation therapy, the therapist is responsible to adhere to strict radiation safety guidelines.

complete article at http://www.imagingtechs.com/radiation-therapist/

Siemens Healthcare Announces Exclusive Partnership With Prowess Inc.

CONCORD, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Siemens Healthcare (http://www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare) announces an exclusive partnership with Prowess Inc. to develop advanced radiation oncology treatment planning software for integration into Siemens' linear accelerators. The combination of Prowess' unique treatment planning system with Siemens' leading oncology solutions technology will help provide users with one of the most effective and reliable radiation therapy treatment solutions available in the market.

This agreement authorizes Siemens Healthcare to share the basic intellectual property of Prowess' patented Direct Aperture Optimization (DAO) planning software, allowing Siemens to incorporate Prowess' software into the treatment planning tools for its linear accelerators. This, in turn, will help users to dramatically reduce the number of segments, monitor units, and overall treatment times.

source: Siemens USA

Varian Medical Systems Announces Symposia on RapidArc Technology for Faster, More Precise Radiotherapy Treatments

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is announcing a series of educational symposia about its revolutionary RapidArc(TM) radiotherapy technology for faster and more precise cancer treatments. These symposia offer clinicians the opportunity to learn more about a technology that makes it possible to deliver image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) two to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT or helical
tomotherapy.

"RapidArc represents a major medical advance that will revolutionize the way image-guided IMRT is planned and delivered for thousands and thousands of patients," says Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business.

source: PR Newswire

Elekta Signs Agreement to Acquire CMS

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Elekta AB (publ) (STO:EKTAB) a world leader in clinical solutions for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, today announced that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire CMS Inc. for a total cash consideration representing an enterprise value of USD 75 M. Closing of the transaction is expected in

CMS is a worldwide leader in the development, sales and support of advanced radiation therapy planning solutions, supporting over 1,500 sites in clinical operation throughout the world.

“I am very pleased that the process to acquire CMS is proceeding according to plan” commented Tomas Puusepp, President & CEO of Elekta. “The people, products and market position of CMS are highly complementary to Elekta’s corporate structure, technology portfolio and R&D roadmap. Both Elekta’s and CMS customers will benefit from our combined strength in product development and support.”

source: Yahoo Finance

What is Radiotherapy?

It has long been known that radiation can damage human cells - and radiotherapy harnesses that power to treat cancers.

Ionizing radiation - similar to x-rays - can penetrate tissue, and alter the part of the cell which regulates its growth and reproduction. Healthy cells can recover from this damage, while cancer cells cannot.

There are two types of radiotherapy - delivered from outside the body by a machine, and using radioactive implants placed inside the body. Researchers are working to increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy by targeting the beam of energy more precisely, and making the cancer cells more sensitive to it.

Continue article at BBC News

ASCO GU 2008 - Brachytherapy: More Is Better

UroToday.com - A survey in 2002 reported that half of urologists in the US offer brachytherapy. The concept of radiation guidance can be either giving radiotherapy via beam or needles. He argued that prostate IG-HDR delivers high doses to the prostate and not the rectum or urethra. He presented a 5-week hyperfractionated protocol of EBRT and HDR boost. The 5-year outcomes of 267 patients treated with high doses revealed the biochemical control is 90%, compared to 68.7% for low dose. Overall survival at 5 years was better with the high dose combination. The mean dose delivered is 77Gy in the ART group which is higher than the 68Gy in the ERBT group. The HDR prostate bed dose was biologically much higher. Patients receiving HDR boost do better regarding 10 survival results with 76% having biochemical freedom from disease. The distant metastatic rate of HDR is also less than ERBT + ART.

Medical NewsToday

ProCure Treatment Centers Teams with University of Pennsylvania to Advance Proton Therapy Training, Research and Development

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. and the University of Pennsylvania's Roberts Proton Therapy Center today announced an agreement that will provide advanced training programs and accredit medical professionals in proton therapy - an alternative to conventional radiation therapy that avoids many of the side effects inherent in treatment. The agreement focuses on expanding research on the technology to be used for the delivery of proton therapy and developing new protocols using protons to treat a wider range of cancer tumors.

Protons are currently used primarily to treat about a dozen diagnoses including base-of-skull tumors, ocular melanoma, sinus tumors, pediatric cancers and prostate cancer.

Centre Daily Times

First Clinical Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Treatment Completed With Elekta Synergy(R) S at General Hospital Vienna

ATLANTA, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, January 31, General
Hospital Vienna successfully completed its first Volumetric Modulated Arc
Therapy (VMAT)* treatment. The hospital is one of the first in the world to
carry out this innovative cancer treatment option.

VMAT technology provides a simultaneous control of the linear
accelerator gantry position and speed, the leaves and angle of the
multileaf collimator and dose rate. This flexibility enables highly
conformal cancer treatments, as well as optimal sparing of the healthy
tissue around the target. In addition, VMAT significantly reduces patient
treatment times, leading to greater patient comfort and stillness for a
more efficient and precise treatment.
PR Newswire

GPS for the Prostate: System Keeps Radiation Therapy on Target

SEATTLE, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A system for tracking the movement of the prostate during radiation therapy has gone into service at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Featuring tiny GPS-type positioning transponders implanted inside the prostate, the technology tracks any movement of the prostate in real time and alerts technicians if the organ moves beyond pre-determined parameters so they can adjust the external beam of radiation.

The advantage of using the system is that the radiation dose stays on target and less of it reaches surrounding healthy tissue, which reduces potential side effects. There is also the potential for using higher doses of radiation to attack tumors precisely while reducing the amount of time patients must undergo the procedure, according to Ken Russell, M.D., radiation oncology clinical chief at the SCCA and the University of Washington.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

Trial To Test Radiation-Emitting Beads Against Advanced Liver Cancer

Liver cancer specialists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia are beginning an 18-month study of a new treatment for liver cancer. The therapy entails injecting tiny beads that emit small amounts of radiation into the liver's main artery while also blocking the blood supply feeding the cancer's growth.

The technique, called radioembolization, has been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for use in inoperable liver cancer. This is the first time that the particular technology, called SIR-Spheres microspheres, which is FDA-approved for treating colon cancer that has spread to the liver, is being studied in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, or primary liver cancer (cancer that originates in the liver).

MedicalNewsToday

Targeted radiation shortens treatment

Physicians at the Texas Cancer Clinic in San Antonio and across the nation report good cosmetic results and few reoccurrences of breast cancer with a technique called MammosSite Targeted Radiation Therapy.

Nearly 500 women have undergone the therapy at the clinic since 2002, when MammosSite was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Nationwide, 35,000 women have had the procedure, according to Hologic, maker of MammoSite.

Dailytimes.com

Elekta Announces First Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Cancer Treatment

ATLANTA, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday, January 28, The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton, Surrey, UK) successfully completed the first Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT)* treatment in the world using a commercially produced product. To facilitate the treatment, the hospital used its existing Elekta Synergy® system and Elekta's next generation linear accelerator control system.

VMAT takes Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) to the next level by simultaneously controlling the position and speed of the linear accelerator gantry, the multileaf collimator and dose rate. The flexibility and variability of VMAT provides highly conformal dose distribution to each target, sparing surrounding healthy tissue more effectively than other treatment methods to reduce the possibility of negative side effects.

Yahoo News

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Northwest Hospital Sign Letter of Intent to Develop Proton Therapy Center for Cancer Treatment

Facility will be the only one if its kind in the Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and Northwest Hospital & Medical Center today announced the signing of a letter of intent to explore the development of a new, state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility offering proton beam radiation therapy.

SCCA originally announced its intention to develop a proton-therapy facility in September 2006 and has since been working to secure financing, develop supporting partnerships and determine a location. Under the letter of intent, Northwest Hospital will house the new facility on its 33-acre, north Seattle campus and will become an equity partner in the project.

source / press release

Research On Gene And Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer Expanded By Henry Ford Hospital

Henry Ford Hospital is embarking on an expanded major clinical trial involving the use of gene therapy in combination with radiation therapy, to determine if the combined treatment is more effective than radiation therapy alone for patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer.

The clinical trial is part of a $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded to Henry Ford to study the effectiveness of gene therapy to treat prostate cancer.

"As part of this research grant we have had encouraging results involving two smaller clinical studies," says Svend Freytag, Ph.D., division head of Research, Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital.

Dr. Freytag, along with Benjamin Movsas, M.D., chair of Radiation Oncology and Hans Stricker, M.D., vice chair of Urology at Henry Ford Hospital are the study's key researchers.

MedicalNewsToday

TomoTherapy Produces 200th Hi·Art® Treatment System

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ:TOMO) today announced that it has completed production of its 200th TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® treatment system. The unit will be shipped to the Santa Maria Nuova (SMN) hospital in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The hospital, which became Italy’s first to use intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in 2001, cited innovative system design, higher quality patient treatments and expanded clinical capabilities as reasons for its Hi·Art purchase decision.

“The purchase of a TomoTherapy Hi·Art radiation therapy system is a major investment that demonstrates the Santa Maria Nuova hospital’s leadership in the field of high technologies applied to patient care,” said Ivan Trenti, general director of the SMN hospital.

Business Wire

Updated Resource Available For Skin, Bladder Cancer Patients

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology has updated its brochures Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer and Radiation Therapy for Skin Cancer to include the most up-to-date information for patients who are deciding whether radiation therapy is the best treatment option for them.

Both brochures include more detailed information about the different types of treatment available for these cancers and, more specifically, the different types of radiation therapy available. Since cancer treatments can be taxing on the body, new sections were added to inform patients on how to best care for themselves while receiving treatment. Patients will be able to use these brochures to educate themselves on radiation therapy before discussing it as a treatment option with their doctor.

MedicalNewsToday

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Announces Publication of Research on Combination Reovirus and Radiation Therapy

CALGARY, Feb. 4 /CNW/ - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY)
('Oncolytics') reported today that Dr. Kevin Harrington and his research group
at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, U.K. published the results of
their work testing combination treatment schedules of reovirus and radiation
in human and murine tumour cells in vitro and in vivo. The paper, entitled
"Enhanced In vitro and In vivo Cytotoxicity of Combined Reovirus and
Radiotherapy" appears online in the February 1, 2008 issue of Clinical Cancer
Research.

The effect of different schedules of reovirus and radiotherapy on viral
replication and cytotoxicity was tested in vitro and the combination was
assessed in three tumour models in vivo.

CNW Group