New Trilogy(reg) Technology for Image-Guided Radiosurgery, Providence Medical Center in Kansas City

Main Category: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 07 Apr 2005 - 10:00 PDT


New technology from Varian Medical Systems can treat very small lesions quickly and with unprecedented precision -

Providence Medical Center in Kansas City has become the first cancer treatment center in the Central U.S. to use the new Trilogy(reg) system from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) for image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS), an ultra-precise treatment that uses new, real-time X-ray imaging capabilities to target cancer and neurological lesions.

The Providence physicians used the new Trilogy system during its first six weeks of operation to treat six patients with image-guided radiosurgery. The patients range in age from 40 to 67, and were treated for a broad range of conditions, including: brain metastases (in a lung cancer and a melanoma cancer patient), acoustic neuroma, arteriovenous malformation, glioblastoma, and and a metastatic lesion in the sternum, which appeared in a patient being treated for squamous cell cancer of the tonsil.

"This state-of-the-art system enables us to treat patients with the most advanced radiotherapy techniques, using the most clinically efficient processes in the world," said Terry Jett, director of Radiation Oncology and Rehabilitation Services. "It provides the most versatile and highly targeted treatments using image-guided radiation therapy."

"This new technology offers hope and treatment to patients who might not have other options. It helps protect healthy brain or organ tissues. In the case of head and neck tumors, for example, we can target a tumor while preserving the patient's ability to talk and swallow," said Frank Holladay, M.D., a board-certified neurosurgeon on the Providence Medical Staff.

At the core of Providence's system is Varian's high-powered Trilogy medical linear accelerator, a machine that rotates around the patient to deliver radiation beams from many angles. The system is able to concentrate radiation doses on the tumor while protecting surrounding healthy tissue.

To enhance treatment precision, the Trilogy accelerator is equipped with a multi-leaf collimator that shapes beams to match the shape of the tumor, and an On-Board Imager(reg) device for fast, accurate, real-time tumor tracking and automated patient positioning.

"The Trilogy system is optimized for delivering image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery," said Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "Its fully-robotic imaging system enables clinicians to position patients for treatment with sub-millimeter accuracy, and to accurately track and adjust for tumor movements at the moment of treatment."

Radiosurgical Approaches to Treatment

In addition to more conventional approaches to radiotherapy, the Trilogy linear accelerator can be used to deliver radiosurgery, which involves delivering higher doses of radiation to tiny areas over a short period of time. Instead of a patient undergoing invasive surgery, fractionated radiosurgery delivers high-intensity radiation over a limited number of treatment sessions.

Image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS) involves delivering precisely focused, high-energy radiation to a localized area of the brain in a single treatment session. It can be used to treat many types of benign and malignant brain tumors, as well as arteriovenous malformations and trigeminal neuralgia. Radiosurgery has been shown to be beneficial for cancer treatment in other areas of the body, such as in the breast, liver, and pancreas.

"Radiation therapy is used today in more than half of all cancer treatments due to its unique clinical advantages, and it is becoming steadily more effective with new technologies that permit ultra-precise dose delivery," said Lori Lindstrom, M.D., a board-certified radiation oncologist on the Providence Medical Staff. "With this new system, we have the potential to substantially improve cancer treatment outcomes by doing a better job of protecting healthy tissue while delivering more powerful radiation doses to the tumor."

"Trilogy is a cost-effective, versatile tool that can be used by both neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists in a multitude of ways to meet the individual treatment needs of patients with widely varying conditions," said Richard Levy, CEO of Varian Medical Systems. "For about half the cost, this machine takes the place of two machines and for the first time makes these advanced treatment techniques affordable for many community hospitals and their patients."

ABOUT PROVIDENCE MEDICAL CENTER

Providence Medical Center is a community hospital, located in western Kansas City, Kansas. The hospital provides a full spectrum of inpatient, outpatient and emergency services and wellness programs. Providence Medical Center is an affiliate of Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, Lenexa, Kan., and is a sister hospital of Saint John Hospital, located in Leavenworth, Kan. For more information, visit http://www.providence-health.org.

ABOUT VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (NYSE:VAR) of Palo Alto, California is the world's leading manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy systems, which are treating thousands of patients per day. The company is also a premier supplier of X-ray tubes and flat-panel digital subsystems for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 3,300 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 55 sales and support offices around the world. Additional information is available on the company's investor relations web site at http://www.varian.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this press release regarding future business, events, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates, and other similar matters, including, but not limited to, statements using the terms "can," "can be," "may be," "may have," "will be," "is becoming," "potential," and "will" constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the risks described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Spencer Sias,
Vice President, Corporate Communications
1.650.424.5782
spencer.sias@varian.com

Meryl Ginsberg
Public Relations Manager
1.650.424.6444
meryl.ginsberg@varian.com

Pat McBratney
Providence Medical Center
(913) 596-4853
Pat.McBratney@Providence-Health.org

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