Taiwan Treats Patient With New Cancer-Fighting Radiotherapy System From Elekta
STOCKHOLM, Mar. 12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Revolutionary Treatment Brings Optimism to Taiwan Patients
A patient with prostate cancer has received treatment using Elekta VMAT
(Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) at the National Taiwan University Hospital
(NTUH) in Taiwan. VMAT enables dramatically reduced treatment times and more
precise targeting of tumors by simultaneously controlling all aspects of the
treatment. It constantly changes the shape of the beam to conform to the
shape of the area that needs to receive radiation while at the same time
sparing the surrounding critical tissue. Like most organs, the prostate can
move during treatment. By delivering radiation in less time, VMAT technology
minimizes the opportunity for organ motion, which further enhances the
precision of the radiation treatment.
NTUH treated the patient with the comprehensive Elekta VMAT solution that
includes ERGO++ treatment planning software. The ERGO++ treatment planning
system uses a special algorithm to perform fast, accurate dose calculations.
The patient was treated on Elekta Synergy(R), a multi-functional linear
accelerator that enables clinicians to both image and treat patients in the
same frame of reference, at the time of treatment.
Jason Chia-Hsien Cheng, M.D., M.S., Ph.D. is Division Chief of the
Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, and Assistant
Professor, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine at NTUH. He says, "Our
first patient undergoing VMAT is a 76-year-old retired gentleman with
prostate cancer. He is a father with many children. He was treated with
200cGy via a co-planar single arc, and the treatment time was less than three
minutes."
Taiwan's first VMAT patient benefited from improved technology, with
better conformity of tumor coverage and a shorter treatment time than the
current IMRT treatments allow, says Dr. Cheng. "We appreciate the advantages
of VMAT with shorter daily treatment times and the best target conformity. We
also see a large number of patients in our department, so it's important to
have efficient patient treatment flow."
NTUH is one of the biggest hospitals in Taiwan, and more than 200 cancer
patients are treated with radiotherapy every day. "We are excited and honored
to be the first hospital in the Asian Pacific area to start a VMAT program,"
says Dr. Cheng. "In the future, we expect that the better dose coverage of
VMAT should bring better outcomes and sparing of critical organs in the head
and neck and other complex areas."
The annual incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide, he adds. "If we
can treat patients more efficiently, we can help more people with precise,
comfortable treatment, and speed up our patient flow as well."
About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and
clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company
develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems
for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing
software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.
Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing
intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both
healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even
save patient lives, making the future possible today.
Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over
5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive
diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta
Group.
Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter
is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic
Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please
SOURCE: Elekta
CONTACT: Lena Schattauer
Investor Relations, Elekta AB
+46 8 587 257 22
+46 70 595 51 00
lena.schattauer@elekta.com, or
Jason Chai-Hsien Cheng
M.D., Ph.D., National Taiwan University Hospital
+886-2-2312-3456 Ext, 6696
jasoncheng@ntu.edu.tw
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