TomoTherapy to Introduce TQA at 50th Annual AAPM Meeting

MADISON, Wis. (Business Wire EON) July 24, 2008 -- TQA has been developed by TomoTherapy in partnership with medical physicists experienced in the clinical use of the Hi Art treatment system. Bob Cravens, M.S., TomoTherapy's lead applied physicist and TQA architect, believes customer input was critical in bringing this powerful set of physics tools to market.

'TQA was built by, and for, our physics colleagues in the clinic,' says Cravens. 'They helped us identify key data and workflow requirements1, and provided valuable feedback throughout the development process. The result is an application that integrates easily into daily workflow, increases productivity and facilitates more informed decision-making. Additionally, it better aligns our support team with TomoTherapy customers, allowing them to share the same data set.'

source: PR Web

MIMA Cancer Center Becomes First in World to Treat Soft Tissue Carcinoma With Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Using RapidArc™ Radiotherapy Technology

MELBOURNE, Fla., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Doctors at Melbourne Internal Medical Associates (MIMA) Cancer Center have become the first in Florida to treat cancer using RapidArc™ radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). They are also the first in the world to use this technology to deliver stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the treatment of soft tissue carcinoma.

A 72-year-old man with Merkel cell carcinoma was treated for a soft tissue tumor in his thigh, which had developed close to where a similar tumor had been treated with conventional radiotherapy six months earlier.

"In this case, it was important that we avoid exposing the previously-treated area to any additional radiation," said Todd Scarbrough, M.D., radiation oncologist and director of the MIMA Cancer Center. "Using RapidArc, we completed each of his treatment sessions in just five minutes, including imaging and treatment. In the past, using conventional IMRT, this type of treatment would have required 30 minutes per session to complete."

source:Varian

Treating Rare Breast Cancer with Radiation Therapy May Lower

Patients with a rare type of breast cancer may benefit from receiving radiation therapy in addition to surgery to prevent recurrence, according to a study in the July issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Phyllodes tumors are rare breast tumors that develop in the connective tissue of the breast, as opposed to more common carcinomas, which develop in the ducts or lobules of the breast. Most patients are treated for phyllodes tumors with either a lumpectomy or mastectomy, with only a small fraction of patients receiving radiation therapy.

Traditionally, adjuvant radiation therapy is recommended for cancer patients with local recurrence risks of 15 percent or greater, but the value of adjuvant radiation therapy has not been extensively studied for phyllodes tumors because they are so rare.

source:ASTRO

TomoTherapy Tops MD Buyline Rankings for Second Straight Quarter

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ: TOMO), maker of the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® treatment system for advanced radiation therapy, has earned top honors in MD Buyline’s user satisfaction rankings for the second consecutive quarter, solidifying its position as the customer service leader in linear accelerator-based radiation therapy.

MD Buyline measures user satisfaction based on evaluations by more than 3,300 hospitals in the member network. Members rank their satisfaction in six areas: system performance; system reliability; installation and implementation; applications training; service response time; and service repair quality. TomoTherapy ranked number one in overall composite score, and either first or second in each contributing category. The ratings appear in MD Buyline's Quarterly User Satisfaction Report, which was published on July 1, 2008.

source: Business Wire