Researchers from UC Irvine Medical Center Find Clinical Advantages to Using RapidArc® Radiotherapy for the Stereotactic Treatment of Tumors

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Researchers from the University of California, Irvine Medical Center reported last week that image-guided RapidArc® radiotherapy from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) has clinical advantages over earlier fixed-beam approaches to stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for treating cancer.

RapidArc, Varian's technology for delivering volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), enables clinicians to deliver a highly-precise image-guided intensity-modulated treatment quickly, often with just one revolution of the treatment machine around the patient.

"We found that we can deliver RapidArc treatments much more quickly, with an average of 76% less 'beam on' time, and also using 31% fewer monitor units, which could limit unintended and undesired radiation exposure to patients," said Daniel C. Schiffner, M.D., chief resident in the UCI Department of Radiation Oncology, in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Chicago.(1)

"The reduction in monitor units is important because it limits the degree to which patients are exposed to radiation leakage from the treatment machine," he said. "In addition, less 'beam on' time improves our clinical workflow, improves patient comfort during treatment, and limits the potential for patient and organ motion during the treatment session, which can allow more accurate dose targeting."

source: Varian