Cancer Patients Gain Access to Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments in Bangladesh

Cancer patients in Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people served by only 11 modern radiotherapy linear accelerators, now have access to sophisticated radiotherapy technology.

Treatments using fast and efficient RapidArc technology, developed by Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, CA, USA), with respiratory gating have started on a new Clinac iX medical linear accelerator at the new United Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Care Center in the capital, Dhaka (Bangladesh).

"As well as offering great precision and excellent dose distribution, RapidArc enables us to deliver the dose more quickly,” said Ayan Basu, MD, head of radiation oncology at United Hospital, which is Bangledesh's first comprehensive cancer center. "This is a country with long waiting lists for treatment, so RapidArc will help us to treat many patients with advanced radiotherapy techniques. We are delighted to be the first hospital in the country to provide RapidArc for the benefit of our patients.”

Doctors at United Hospital have begun delivering RapidArc on prostate and head/neck cancer patients. The RapidArc system delivers precise image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) up to four times faster than conventional IMRT. The RapidArc IMRT beam quickly delivers the dose while continuously rotating around the patient. Studies show that faster treatments allow for greater precision, since there is less chance of patient or tumor movement during treatment delivery, and less time on the treatment couch allows for greater patient comfort.

Dr. Basu said RapidArc is being used initially to treat cancers such as prostate, cervical, and anal canal, and will also be used for stereotactic body radiotherapy treatments, which involve the use of very high-dose beams to quickly attack specific types of tumors in areas like the lung, liver, or spine.

The RapidArc-equipped Clinac device, ordered in June 2010 and installed in December 2010, is the first treatment machine at the new facility. Two additional radiotherapy rooms have been constructed to allow for future expansion. United Hospital has acquired the first positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and cyclotron in Bangladesh, and offers treatments using a Varian GammaMed HDR (high dose rate) brachytherapy afterloader.

United Hospital is a private, 450-bed multi-disciplinary hospital designated as a referral hospital by the Bangladesh government. It is situated on the lakeside area in Gulshan, a diplomatic and residential district of Dhaka.

"We are honored to be associated with this wonderful new facility serving the people of Bangladesh,” said Rolf Staehelin, Varian's international marketing director. "There are huge challenges facing cancer treatment in Bangladesh, with many patients travelling to Singapore and India for treatment, and we hope RapidArc at United will play its part in starting to address the country's extensive cancer burden.”

According to published reports there are currently over one million people with cancer in Bangladesh, with approximately 200,000 new cases being reported annually and approximately 150,000 deaths associated with the disease.

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