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