Noninvasive Image-Guided Cancer Treatment Receives Approval in Japan

Designed for the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, head and neck, and other types of cancer, an image-guided radiotherapy system can treat tumors with great speed and accuracy--including tumors that move during treatment as the patient breathes in and out.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA, USA), a world-leading manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer with radiotherapy, reported that it has received Shonin approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW; Tokyo, Japan) to market the TrueBeam system for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery in Japan.

TrueBeam features many technical advances that dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. Applicable for all forms of advanced external-beam radiotherapy including image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and RapidArc radiotherapy, TrueBeam can deliver treatments with a dose delivery rate that is about twice the maximum output of traditional systems. This makes it possible to offer shorter treatment times for patients, potentially enabling clinics to treat more patients each day and to improve precision by leaving less time for tumor motion during dose delivery.

"Intelligent" automation additionally speeds treatments and makes the technology easier for clinicians to use, with an up to five-fold reduction in the number of steps needed for imaging, positioning and treating patients. A standard intensity-modulated treatment that would typically take 10 minutes can be completed in less than two minutes.

More than 220 TrueBeam systems have now been ordered by treatment centers worldwide and more than 65 installations are completed or in process. Varian also offers the Trilogy and Clinac systems for image-guided radiotherapy, which have been approved for sale in Japan since 1995. There are now over 360 Varian treatment machines operating at cancer treatment centers across Japan.

"TrueBeam is Varian's most advanced cancer treatment system. It combines high dose delivery rates, image-guidance, RapidArc, and motion management capabilities, making it particularly well-suited for treating cancer of the lung and liver, two of the five most prevalent forms of cancer in Japan," said Makoto Yamada, sales manager for Varian in Japan. "We are pleased to be able to add the new TrueBeam system to the full line of cancer treatment technologies Varian can offer to our clinical partners in Japan."

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