Florida cancer center treats cancer patient with Varian radiotherapy system
Doctors at Melbourne Internal Medical Associates (MIMA) Cancer Center in Florida, have begun to treat patients with cancer using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems.
The company said the facility is the first to use this technology to deliver stereotactic body radiotherapy in the treatment of soft tissue carcinoma.
A 72-year-old man with Merkel cell carcinoma was treated for a soft tissue tumor in his thigh, which had developed close to where a similar tumor had been treated with conventional radiotherapy six months earlier, according to the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian.
The company said its RapidArc delivers an image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatment with one 360 degree rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. In this case, however, Todd Scarbrough, MD, radiation oncologist and director at MIMA, and his team designed a treatment that was delivered with half a rotation around the patient.
The company said the facility is the first to use this technology to deliver stereotactic body radiotherapy in the treatment of soft tissue carcinoma.
A 72-year-old man with Merkel cell carcinoma was treated for a soft tissue tumor in his thigh, which had developed close to where a similar tumor had been treated with conventional radiotherapy six months earlier, according to the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian.
The company said its RapidArc delivers an image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatment with one 360 degree rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. In this case, however, Todd Scarbrough, MD, radiation oncologist and director at MIMA, and his team designed a treatment that was delivered with half a rotation around the patient.