July 3, 2017 — Accuray Inc. and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC), part of the Montefiore Health System (MHS), announced that Montefiore doctors have treated the first cancer patients in New York with the advanced Radixact Treatment Delivery System. The system was designed to deliver image-guided intensity-modulated (IG-IMRT) radiation therapy, an extremely precise form of radiation therapy. Montefiore is the only hospital in New York State, and in the greater New York area, to have this equipment.
The Radixact System is the next-generation TomoTherapy platform developed to enable doctors to more efficiently and effectively deliver precise radiation treatments to more patients with cancer every day. What makes the Radixact technology different from conventional radiation systems is the integration of a computed tomography (CT) scanner with the radiation therapy delivery system. The built-in CT scanner performs daily imaging before each treatment session to determine the shape and position of the tumor. This allows for accurate and precise tumor targeting, while reducing the radiation dose to normal, healthy tissue. Only then, is radiation delivered from 360 degrees around the patient's body allowing for treatment of any target, irrespective of its length.
Daily pretreatment imaging, coupled with the system's Accuray Precision Treatment Planning System and PreciseART Adaptive Radiation Therapy software, informs precise treatment planning and mid-course decision-making, so clinical teams can instantly adapt therapy to:
- Changes in tumor size, shape and location; and
- Subtle changes in the location of organs and other healthy tissue, due to weight gain or loss
Identifying and correcting for any variations in patient positioning, as well as biological changes, ensures the continued precision and safe delivery of the radiation dose to the target area, resulting in fewer long term side effects.
The Radixact System is capable of treating all standard radiation therapy indications including breast, head and neck, lung and prostate cancers, in addition to complex treatments such as total marrow irradiation. The Montefiore patients were treated for prostate cancer, and plans are also in place to use the system for patients with Ob/Gyn-related cancers and head and neck cancers, as these often require alterations to therapy mid-course due to changes in tumor size, location and individual weight.
"We could not be more thrilled to have this amazing technology here at Montefiore, along with the clinical expertise to guide its use," said Shalom Kalnicki, M.D., FACRO, professor and chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "We know the ability to adapt the radiation dose to the actual target and normal tissue position and shape is key to the future of radiation therapy. This technology is so sophisticated it can streamline treatment so cures are more frequent and patients are better protected from side effects they have suffered in the past. The Radixact System is an exciting step forward solidifying the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care's place on the frontier of cancer treatment."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state of New York has the third highest cancer rate in the United States. More than 105,000 people in New York are diagnosed with cancer each year, or approximately 287 people each day. Innovations such as the Radixact System are helping to make it possible for people who are diagnosed with cancer to live longer with a better quality of life than was previously possible.
For more information: www.accuray.com
