Clinicians detail how the Edge™ radiosurgery suite and other cancer treatment technologies from Varian Medical Systems are enabling fast, precise tumor targeting

MINNEAPOLIS /PRNewswire/ -- Radiation oncologists and a neurosurgeon from noted institutions in the U.S. and Europe report that they are able to use non-invasive radiosurgery to treat a widening variety of cancers due to technology advances that are making it possible to deliver these treatments more quickly and with greater precision.

Clinical experts speaking at the "Sharpen Your Edge Against Cancer" educational symposium sponsored here yesterday by Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) detailed how Varian technologies like the Edge™ radiosurgery suite and RapidArc® radiosurgery are helping to make radiosurgery in the body-sometimes referred to as stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)-a feasible option for more cancer patients.
Early Adopters of the Edge Radiosurgery Suite
Among the presenters were clinicians from the first sites to deploy Varian's new Edge™ radiosurgery suite. Carlo Greco, MD, professor at the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal, gave an overview of the first 100 patients treated on the Edge platform and discussed treatments for lung and prostate cancer. Greco outlined a high-precision approach to treating prostate cancer, using a treatment plan that reduces the margin of normal tissues irradiated to minimize the impact of treatment on the urethra, rectal wall, and bladder, as well as the nearby nerves and blood vessels.1

Salim Siddiqui, MD, PhD, director of the Stereotactic Radiation Program at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan, described cases that have been treated on the Edge radiosurgery suite since it was deployed in March, including pancreatic, liver, and lung cancer. According to Siddiqui, the Edge system's targeting and patient positioning capabilities, which include tools for adapting to tumor motion during treatment, make it possible to more confidently deliver precise treatments for patients with inoperable lung cancer.

Samuel Chao, MD, radiation oncologist with the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, explained that a steadily growing increase in the number of SBRT treatments at the clinic made it necessary to deploy a treatment system with efficient throughput, such as the Edge suite, which is currently being installed. He described how the Edge suite's tools for patient positioning and image guidance will be used to minimize dose to surrounding healthy tissues and organs during treatments for spine, lung, prostate, and liver cancer. He notes that the Edge will serve as a complementary tool for their existing program in brain stereotactic radiosurgery and is excited to start treating patients on the system later this month.

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