Cancer Treated with Radiation Therapy

http://www.or-live.com/WFUBMC/2386 James J. Urbanic, M.D., a radiation oncologist, and Carnell J. Hampton, Ph.D., a physicist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, will use the most advanced linear accelerator to treat lung cancer. The Elekta Axesse™ image guided linear accelerator offers highly-accurate targeting of tumors and lesions virtually anywhere in the body. Typically requiring only one to five treatments, it achieves excellent results in fewer treatments than required by standard radiotherapy. "Axesse raises our technological and treatment capabilities to an even higher level," said Urbanic, lead physician on the Axesse team. "We are able to deliver higher and more conformal doses of radiation to the target in fewer fractions than with conventional radiation therapy techniques." For patients, that means more convenience and a faster return to their daily activities. The Axesse combines three-dimensional image guidance with highly conformal beam shaping and robotic 6D patient positioning to deliver fast, effective and accurate treatments. "Even the slightest patient misalignment can impact the accuracy of a dose," said Urbanic. With Axesse, the unit’s built-in CT imaging can allow for targeting accuracy within just a couple of millimeters. This ability to precisely conform the dose to the size and shape of the target offers clinicians the confidence to treat targets more aggressively while avoiding healthy tissue and critical structures. Radiation therapy with these techniques is a treatment modality for a wide range of cancers including lung, prostate, head and neck, esophageal, spinal cord, pancreatic, liver metastases, recurrent gynecologic cancers, bone metastasis and adrenal cancer.