Swedish Cancer Institute first to
offer precision-treatment of prostate cancer
with organ-motion tracking
5 February 2007
Seattle, USA. The Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle is the first to
offer prostate cancer
treatment with the Calypso 4D Localization System for
precision-guided radiation therapy with continuous,
objective, organ-motion tracking.
The Calypso 4D Localization System is now enabling the Swedish Cancer
Institute physicians the ability to pinpoint a prostate tumour's location
with greater accuracy and continuously monitor its position in real-time
during radiation treatment.
This technology, which has FDA 510(k)
clearance, uses tiny electromagnetic sensors, called Beacon transponders,
that are each about the size of a small grain of rice. Transponders are
implanted in the prostate prior to treatment. Subsequently, the Calypso
System continuously monitors the position and motion of the organ by
tracking transponder positions during therapy delivery and alerts clinicians
when the prostate is not properly aligned with the radiation beam.
Radiation therapy is used to treat about one million cancer patients in
the United States each year and is very effective in destroying cancer
cells. However, in prostate cancer treatment the most common side effects
arise when the radiation beam misses the prostate but irradiates adjacent
healthy organs causing complications like impotence, urinary incontinence
and rectal bleeding. Therefore, doctors must guard against damaging healthy
tissues that surround the tumour caused by misalignment and unpredictable
tumour motion.
"Patients are well educated in prostate cancer treatment options and seek
the best treatment approach possible. We expect the Calypso 4D
Localization System to factor into the patient's decision when selecting
Swedish for their radiation treatment. In fact, almost half of the initial
patients implanted with Beacon transponders have traveled more than 100
miles from their home to receive treatment at the Swedish Cancer Institute,"
said John Sylvester, M.D., radiation oncologist with the Seattle Prostate
Institute at Swedish Medical Center. "That's quite a testimony to the value
patients place on accurate treatment."
"This 4D monitoring technology is a key building block in the Swedish
Cancer Institute's commitment to provide patients access to a complementary
array of leading-edge radiation therapy delivery options through the Center
for Advanced Targeted Radiation Therapies," said Albert B. Einstein Jr., M.D.,
executive director of the Swedish Cancer Institute. "We're honoured to be the
first program in the world to offer the Calypso System to prostate cancer
patients."
"Over the last several years early product concepts were evaluated by
Swedish Cancer Institute staff and contributed to the product design and
operation," said Eric R. Meier, Calypso Medical president and CEO. "As a
result, Calypso Medical was able to develop a very robust application,
designed to improve the accuracy, efficiency and, for the first time, enable
continuous, real-time tumour tracking. We believe this will pave the way for
expanded treatment delivery options in radiation therapy and enable
clinicians to better manage organ motion during therapy. By partnering with
clinical experts at the Swedish Cancer Institute, we expect to see
unprecedented advancements in radiation therapy management and expanded
treatment delivery options."
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