Advanced Treatments Begin Using New Radiosurgery System

Georgia has started using a new radiosurgery system, installed in the capital Tbilisi, to treat a female breast cancer patient.

The system is a non-invasive alternative to conventional surgery and can be used to treat patients with metastatic tumors using Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), together with enhanced motion management and respiratory gating to take account of breathing patterns.

The Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, CA, USA) Edge system was installed at the Tbilisi-based Research Institute of Clinical Medicine (Tbilisi, Georgia), and has now been put to clinical use for the first time.

The Edge system features real-time tracking, high definition collimator leaves, and a high dose rate that together allow clinicians to deliver precise and fast radiosurgical treatments. The system reduces the treatment time compared to other approaches, and uses shaped high-energy X-Rays without surgical incisions. The system also features a treatment couch with six axes of motion that allows tumors to be targeted from more angles than was possible before.

The Edge system allows a shorter healing time, and results in less pain, and a shorter recovery time for the patient compared with conventional surgery. The Edge radiosurgery system has also been used to deliver bone, lung, brain, and adrenal radiosurgery.

Dr. Natalia Jankarashvili, head of Research Institute of Clinical Medicine, radiation oncology department, said, "We are pleased to be the first center in this region to begin clinical treatments using Edge radiosurgery. Radiosurgery with Edge is very fast and it enables us to carry out radiosurgery on small tumors, which we couldn't do before. We think it will make a big difference for cancer patients throughout Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan."