Moroccan Hospital Performs First Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments in North Africa

A 60-year-old prostate cancer patient has become the first person in North Africa to be treated using fast and efficient radiotherapy technology.

The pioneering treatment took place at Al Kindy Hospital, a leading private cancer clinic in Casablanca, Morocco. Over 20 additional prostate and head/neck cancer treatments have subsequently taken place using the advanced technology, provided by Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA, USA).

Physicians at Al Kindy reported that RapidArc technology has enabled them to give fast and precise treatments that deliver the prescribed dose to the tumor while limiting exposure to neighboring healthy tissue and organs. “RapidArc is a very effective way of improving the precision of our radiotherapy treatments, particularly for head and neck treatments, which are very common here in Morocco,” said Hicham Tamri, a medical physicist. “With RapidArc we are able to deliver the prescribed dose precisely while lowering the risk of complications such as dry mouth. For prostate patients, we can better reduce exposure of the bladder, urethra, and rectum.”

The advanced RapidArc system, which has been introduced clinically on the hospital’s Varian Clinac DHX medical linear accelerator, delivers precise image-guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) up to four times faster than traditional 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.

Mr. Tamri said the hospital had never offered IMRT treatments in the past but the acquisition of new equipment and software from Varian had enabled them to commence image-guided RapidArc treatments. “We will be using RapidArc rather than fixed-beam IMRT for all eligible cases in the future,” he said.

Youssef Rihane, Varian’s regional sales director, said, “In a country where less than five per cent of cancer patients even receive intensity modulated radiotherapy, we are pleased to help Al Kindy to introduce more advanced RapidArc IMRT treatments for the benefit of patients throughout North Africa. My congratulations to the team at Al Kindy for their pioneering work.”

Mr. Tamri added, “Morocco has seen a marked advancement in radiotherapy technologies and the number of radiotherapy practitioners in recent years and we can expect to see the introduction of more and more advanced treatments in the future.”

Al Kindy was established as a cancer center in 1989, offering low dose rate brachytherapy treatments. Ten years later, the hospital’s first medical linear accelerator was installed and a new Varian Clinac DHX was acquired in 2010 to boost the center’s treatment capabilities. The majority of Al Kindy’s patients come from across Morocco and neighboring countries such as Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal.

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