Leading China Cancer Center Offers Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments Using Varian's On-Board Imager

Leading China Cancer Center Offers Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments Using Varian's On-Board Imager

April 11, 2007

    SHANDONG, China, April 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- One of
China's top public cancer centers has introduced
image-guided radiotherapy treatments for cancer patients
using a Clinac(R) linear accelerator and On-Board Imager(R)
from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). The new device
enables clinicians at Shandong Cancer Hospital in East
China to use advanced image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
techniques that improve precision and potentially increase
cure rates.

    "Precision and accuracy are vital whenever you
treat a patient with radiotherapy," says Dr. Jin-Ming
Yu, president and chief radiation oncologist at Shandong
Cancer Hospital. "IGRT is ultimately all about
increasing precision and we are delighted to be able to
introduce a comprehensive IGRT program for our
patients."

    Since installing the IGRT system, Dr. Yu and his team
have treated tumors in the head and neck, lung, esophagus,
liver, brain and other parts of the body. "Our
observations of how tumors move and change over the course
of treatment have only served to confirm that image
guidance is absolutely essential for adapting to those
changes and getting the treatment beam in precisely the
correct position," he says.

    He added that advanced treatment techniques including
biological targeting and IMRT (intensity modulated
radiation therapy) also benefit from an imaging tool such
as the On-Board Imager. "Without it, we would have no
practical way to set up patients for treatment with the
millimeter precision we need to be sure we're always
targeting the right place," he said. "We have
implemented a comprehensive IGRT program using the OBI
device and better outcomes can certainly be expected in the
not too distant future."

    Using the new equipment, the doctors at Shandong have
launched a series of treatment programs that take advantage
of the On-Board Imager's available imaging modes, including
ways of increasing precision for lung and liver treatments.
In particular, the Shandong clinicians have commenced using
the device's cone-beam CT functionality to generate
enhanced 3-D CT images of brain metastases at the time of
treatment. "By using CBCT imaging in combination with
a contrast agent, tumors are extremely well defined, which
means direct brain tumor registration and online correction
is now available to us," said Dr. Yu. 

    The On-Board Imager makes it possible for clinicians to
image and treat on a single machine that rotates around the
patient to take X-ray images and deliver treatments from
virtually any angle.  Mounted on a Clinac(R) medical linear
accelerator, the OBI device produces high-resolution X-ray
images of the tumor and tracks changes in tumor shape, size
or position over a multi-week course of treatment. It also
enables clinicians to track and adjust for tumor motion
caused by the patient's breathing during treatment
sessions.

    Prior to the advent of image-guided radiotherapy
(IGRT), radiation oncologists had to contend with
variations in patient positioning and with respiratory
motion by treating a relatively large margin of healthy
tissue around the tumor.  This increased the risk of
complications from the treatment and forced doctors to use
lower, less effective doses in their treatments. IGRT
enables doctors to minimize the volume of healthy tissue
exposed to the treatment beam, giving them the option of
using higher doses when the patient needs them.

    Shandong Cancer Hospital is one of the leading cancer
centers in China, incorporating the country's largest
radiotherapy facility, which includes six linear
accelerators. About 36,000 patients from across the East
China region are treated at the center each year. 

    Varian Medical Systems, the world leader in radiation
therapy, has sold nine On-Board Imager IGRT systems in
mainland China to date and the Shandong device is the first
to enter clinical use. 

    Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems,
[phone], [e-mail] 

    About Varian Medical Systems

    Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California,
is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and
software for treating cancer and other medical conditions
with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy.  The company supplies informatics software
for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy
centers and medical oncology practices.  Varian is a
premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray
imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications
and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening
and industrial inspection.  Varian Medical Systems employs
approximately 3,900 people who are located at manufacturing
sites in North America and Europe and in its 56 sales and
support offices around the world.  In Europe, the company
operates manufacturing and engineering centers in Baden
(Switzerland), Crawley (England), Haan (Germany), Helsinki
(Finland) and Toulouse (France) and has headquarters for
Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEA) based in Zug,
Switzerland. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/ .

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    For more information, please contact:

     Neil Madle
     Varian Medical Systems
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]