PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sabin Robbins, a
75-year old prostate cancer patient is among the first people in Southeastern
Florida to benefit from treatment with new RapidArc(TM) radiotherapy
technology now in use at Bethesda Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer
Center of Boynton Beach, Florida. RapidArc, which is made by Varian Medical
Systems (NYSE: VAR), unleashes the precision of intensity-modulated radiation
therapy (IMRT) two to eight times faster than was previously possible.
Robbins, a former director of the National Zoo in Washington, DC, is mid-way
through his eight and one half weeks of treatment.
"I feel very healthy for my age," said Robbins, who swims over 70 laps in
his pool each day. "When family and friends suggested that I go in for a
physical, I didn't pay much attention to the advice. Eventually, though, I
gave in and agreed to a routine checkup, and the tests revealed that I had
prostate cancer! I feel very fortunate that I caught this cancer before more
time went by."
Doctors at Bethesda Comprehensive Cancer Center told Robbins he was a
candidate for the new RapidArc technology. "I was told that RapidArc could
reduce my treatment time from 15 minutes to less than two minutes each day,"
said Robbins, who sought out a second opinion from doctors at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston. They confirmed that he had prostate cancer and
supported the course of treatment recommended by doctors at Bethesda. So
Robbins returned home to begin RapidArc treatments.
"I have been pleasantly surprised at the quickness of the treatments,"
adds Robins. "In fact, I find it fascinating to watch the treatment machine
rotate around me as I lie on the table."
A RapidArc equipped linear accelerator delivers Robbins' daily treatments
in a single rotation around him. During that rotation, the treatment beam
continually morphs to the shape and volume of the tumor at every possible
angle.
Each of Robbins' treatments takes about 70 seconds to complete once he has
been positioned for treatment and image guidance technology has pinpointed the
tumor's location.
"RapidArc allows us to more closely shape the treatment beam to the
tumor," said Bruce Greene, MD, director of radiation oncology at Bethesda.
"Compared with conventional IMRT treatment plans, we are finding that normal
tissue sparing is noticeably better with RapidArc. Because of this accuracy,
we expect to improve clinical outcomes and reduce unwanted side effects."
Greene added that the speed of a RapidArc treatment can further enhance
treatment accuracy. "Normal physiology will cause a tumor to move slightly,
even within the 7 to 10 minutes needed to complete a conventional IMRT
treatment," said Greene. "What we're seeing with RapidArc is that treatments
are completed fast enough to reduce the range of tumor movement during the
treatment." Published studies suggest that faster treatments may also result
in higher cancer cell kill rates.
RapidArc radiotherapy technology has now been used for the treatment of
prostate, head and neck, lung, brain, spine, bone, gynecological, and soft
tissue cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that, in the United
States this year, doctors will diagnose 1,437,180 new cancer cases; over
100,000 will occur in the state of Florida.
About Bethesda Memorial Hospital and Bethesda Comprehensive Cancer Center
Celebrating 50 years of caring for the community, Bethesda Memorial
Hospital, is a 401-bed, full service, not-for-profit hospital that serves
South Palm Beach County. With a longstanding tradition of providing excellence
in cancer care, Bethesda Comprehensive Cancer Center has two locations to
serve our community. Our comprehensive cancer services include inpatient and
outpatient cancer services, support groups for the community and a
multi-modality clinic for breast cancer patients at Bethesda Women's Health
Center. Bethesda Memorial Hospital is a proud Affiliate of the H. Lee Moffitt
Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida, in
Tampa. FL. For more information, visit: http://www.BethesdaWeb.com.
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's
leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and
other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 4,800 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 sales and
support offices around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Worlton, Varian Medical Systems
650-424-6438 or john.worlton@varian.com
Lisa Kronhaus, Bethesda Healthcare System
561-737-7733, ext. 4320 or
Lisa.Kronhaus@BethesdaHealthcare.com
