PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian (NYSE: VAR)
in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical
Center/University of Cincinnati Medical
Center Proton Therapy Center announced the achievement of a
significant milestone in the path towards clinical trials of FLASH
therapy*. The combined research team utilized a Varian
ProBeam® proton therapy gantry treatment room in
research mode to successfully complete a FLASH delivery to a
phantom target. This test is the world's first lung SBRT FLASH
delivery using a proton system.
The test centered around the investigation of whether a
commercial proton therapy system in research mode could deliver a
therapeutic dose at FLASH dose rates of at least 100 Gy/sec to a
lung lesion in an SBRT phantom within clinically acceptable
tolerances.
"We used the Varian Eclipse system to plan and target a lung
lesion on an SBRT phantom with three non-coplanar fields,"
explained Anthony Mascia, director
of Medical Physics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical
Center/University of Cincinnati Medical
Center Proton Therapy Center. "The fields were delivered to film
and the ion-chamber and measurements were recorded and compared to
the treatment planning system using the common gamma index
test."
"We were pleased to see that our integrated system in research
mode can create FLASH plans and deliver FLASH lung SBRT within
clinically acceptable criteria," said Kolleen Kennedy, chief growth officer and
president of Proton Therapy Solutions, Varian. "This positive
result has immediate impact on pre-clinical animal studies
exploring the nature of the FLASH effect with protons and supports
proton therapy as a viable modality to deliver FLASH treatments to
humans."
FLASH Therapy is a non-invasive treatment using an external beam
delivered in high doses, at ultra-high speeds (less than 1 second),
and in one to three sessions. This new therapy is currently in the
pre-clinical testing phase but represents an exciting and
potentially promising new direction in the treatment of cancer.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center/University of Cincinnati Medical Center Proton
Therapy Center is a founding member of the FlashForward Consortium,
whose mission is to continue research and build an evidence-based
introduction of FLASH Therapy using the ProBeam®
platform.
For more information, visit www.varian.com/flashforward.
About Varian
At Varian, we envision a world without fear of cancer. For more
than 70 years, we have developed, built and delivered innovative
cancer care technologies and solutions for our clinical partners
around the globe to help them treat millions of patients each year.
With an Intelligent Cancer Care approach, we are harnessing
advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine
learning and data analytics to enhance cancer treatment and expand
access to care. Our 9,200 employees across 70 countries keep the
patient and our clinical partners at the center of our thinking as
we power new victories in cancer care. Because, for cancer patients
everywhere, their fight is our fight. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.
*FLASH therapy is under preclinical research. It is not
available for clinical use and there is no guarantee of future
commercialization.
Press Contact
Mark
Plungy
Director, Global Public Relations
+1 (650) 424-5630
mark.plungy@varian.com
Investor Relations Contact
J. Michael Bruff
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
+1 (650) 424-5163
investors@varian.com
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SOURCE Varian