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RapidArc Yashoda Cancer Institute |
For the first time in India, lung cancer treated with 4D-Gated Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery at Yashoda Cancer Institute
Hyderabad, AP – August 4, 2010 – Mr. Balaram Murthy, a 65-year-old man with inoperable lung cancer, has become the first lung cancer patient in India to receive 4D-Gated Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery using RapidArc technology at Yashoda Cancer Institute. Mr. Murthy was diagnosed with Non Small Cell lung cancer, with a 2.5 cm tumor in the right middle lobe. This meant the tumor moved extensively during breathing and required 4-D Respiratory gating to predict tumor movements in all dimensions. An acute cardiac disease further complicated his case, making him unsuitable for invasive surgery. Specialists at Yashoda Cancer Institute were able to successfully treat Mr. Murthy’s lung cancer with the Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery, delivered using RapidArc technology. The follow up HD-PET scan showed a complete eradication of the tumor without any side effects.
Lung cancer is the single most devastating cause of cancer related deaths with approximately 1.5 million cases world wide and more than 1.3 million cancer related deaths in a calendar year. In India it constitutes 14.4 % (1 in 7) of all cancers as per ICMR. Its incidence is rising among both men & women, and increasing numbers are being detected due to better screening and public awareness. Radiotherapy and Surgery are two major curative modalities in the treatment of lung cancer with chemotherapy reserved for advanced cases.
Conventional radiotherapy techniques are delivered over 25 to 30 sessions at more than 30 minutes per session. The new method of radiosurgery is completely non-invasive and it involves delivering the full dose in as little as one to three treatments of ten minutes each. Instead of five to six weeks, the patient's treatment can be completed in just one week. In these cases, it is superior to conventional radiation therapy and equivalent to surgery. In the near future, radiosurgery might become an alternative to invasive surgery for a large number of patients. The team of radiation oncologists at Yashoda Cancer Institute has now successfully implemented this treatment for another patient of early stage lung cancer and few more patients of pancreatic, liver and gall bladder cancers.
Dr. G.S. Rao, Managing Director of Yashoda Hospitals, adds “This is a proud moment for us. It reinforces our efforts to employ the most advanced technologies and procedures to successfully treat cancer patients. RapidArc technology along with the state-of-the-art 4D CT Gating technology enables physicians to trace the exact position of lung tumors and upper abdominal tumors, even while the patient is breathing. This kind of precision is impossible to achieve with the conventional CT technology that is commonly available.” Gating is a technology which adapts to patient’s breathing movements and sensibly switches radiation on and off automatically so that patients need not hold their breath during treatment. Better imaging, greater precision and faster delivery also allow clinicians to deliver the required dose in fewer treatments.
Mr. Murthy narrates, “I visited Yashoda Hospital to treat a heart disorder. I was diagnosed with a triple vessel cardiac disease. Further tests revealed I also had a cancerous tumor in my lung. The doctors informed me that multiple complications made me unfit for surgery and that a treatment called body radiosurgery, the first of its kind in India, will be performed. The doctors were experienced and reassuring and that gave me the confidence to go ahead. I greatly thank the doctors of Yashoda Hospital.”
Yashoda Cancer Institute has achieved yet another milestone with the successful treatment of 500 cancer patients with RapidArc technology. The Institute was the first in Asia to be equipped with Varian’s RapidArc Linear Accelerator and the most sophisticated three dimensional treatment planning systems. The volume of patients treated in just a span of one and a half years places Yashoda Cancer Institute among the top cancer treatment centres of the world. Speaking of which, Dr. G.S. Rao said “our achievement has been recognised by the international scientific associations such as ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology), and ESTRO (European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology) and we are going to share our vast experience with the world in this year’s annual meetings of these bodies as well as through prestigious international medical journals.”
To keep pace with the internationally available innovations, Yashoda Hospital has installed the High Definition-PET CT Scan, the first of its kind in south India. HD PET identifies tumors as small as 2mm, assisting clinicians in delivering a more confident and targeted treatment. "With our team of internationally trained expert radiation oncologists and physicists, we ensure our patients get the best benefit from the best technology in the world. We are thankful to our patients whose belief in our abilities has been our strength and has helped us achieve remarkable milestones in healthcare.” adds Dr. Rao.
Varian Medical Systems has acknowledged and officially announced this news on their website (http://investors.varian.com/index.php?s=43&item=751).
Michael Sandhu, European Head of Varian Medical Systems, and Neil Madle, Investment Relations Director, visited Yashoda’s Department of Radiation Oncology and congratulated the whole team for bringing world-class cancer treatment to poor patients in India at an affordable price.