“The Varian technology will enable us to treat tumors more precisely and at higher doses,” says Dr. Jing-Min Hwang, director of the hospital’s radiation oncology department. “This will help us improve the treatment outcomes for cancer patients and as a result, I believe more patients will come to our hospital for this advanced treatment.”

At the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center, providing top-notch clinical care and cancer research was a key goal for the cancer center team that designed the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center in La Jolla, California. The university decided to invest in state-of-the-art Varian equipment to enhance the spectacular new three-story medical center with innovative technology that would expand their cancer-fighting capabilities and enhance their research projects.

Stephen Seagren, MD, is chief of the UCSD Medical Center radiation oncology division and has been using a Trilogy accelerator primarily to treat head and neck cancers. “On-board imaging gives us immediate feedback that helps ensure we’ve lined up the beam exactly right,” Dr. Seagren says. “The fact that this imaging technique is inherent in the system, and not an add-on, increases our ability to provide intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) safely and competently, improving the outcome for patients and reducing unpleasant side effects.” IMRT enables doctors to segment a tumor into hundreds of fields and to apply different radiation doses to the different fields.

Since the center opened in April 2005, the number of patients seeking treatment has increased much faster than the team anticipated. Dr. Seagren expects that the patient load will only continue to grow as the innovative Varian technology enables his team to treat more complex and difficult-to-control tumors.

Improved tumor control has been a key benefit for many patients at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, which treats about 2,500 cancer patients each year across four clinics. Over the past year, doctors have performed around 3,500 treatment sessions using Varian IGRT technology. “Imaging enables us to verify the patient setup at each treatment and better localize the tumor,” explains Jerome Landry, MD, professor of radiation oncology at Emory University. “We’re seeing this translate into fewer side effects and better control of tumors.”

As more treatment centers and patients realize the benefits of Varian IGRT technology, prostate cancer patient Clark Hayward continues to enjoy his active lifestyle and excellent prognosis. “I chose this treatment to avoid some of the side effects of other treatments. Still, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that I’ve had fewer problems than I thought I would,” Hayward says. “I’m very optimistic about the future.”

Continued
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