| April 21, 2005
Upper Michigan Cancer Center to utilize new radiation therapy
treatment
IMRT improves distribution of radiation to site of tumor
The
Marquette General Health System Board of Trustees has approved
the purchase of an Intensity Modulated Radiation
Therapy (IMRT) system to be used in radiation therapy to treat
cancer patients.
Marquette General Hospital radiation oncologist
Dr. Paul Thieme, left, and chief physicist David Chin review
a patient’s tumor
on screen using the new Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
system. IMRT is a relatively new radiation therapy treatment technology
that shapes or conforms radiation beams to the size, configuration
and location of a tumor while minimizing the impact on surrounding
healthy tissue or organs. (MGH photo)
IMRT is a relatively new radiation therapy treatment technology
that shapes or conforms radiation beams to the size, configuration
and location of a tumor while minimizing the impact on surrounding
healthy tissue or organs.
” Currently, we use 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy for the more complex
cancer treatments. This allows us to shape radiation beams and
increase treatment doses above and beyond previous two-dimensional
technology,” said Dr.
Paul Thieme, a radiation oncologist
with the Upper
Michigan Cancer Center at Marquette General. “ IMRT
allows us to fine-tune that process. It helps us shape the radiation
with less going to the healthy tissue and more to the cancerous
tissue. This allows us to increase the dose of radiation, ideally
resulting in improved tumor control.”
The hospital invested more that $500,000 for the IMRT software
and hardware. It has several key benefits:
| · |
Lower
complication rates:IMRT reduces side effects with its ability
to deliver less radiation to healthy or critical tissue surrounding
the tumor; |
| · |
Increased
dosing: The precision that IMRT offers allows radiation oncologists
the ability to increase the dose to the tumor while limiting
radiation to surrounding healthy tissue; |
| · |
Better
tumor coverage: IMRT provides more precise targeting, especially
for concave-shaped tumors such as prostate, which allows
for more complete coverage of the tumor; |
| · |
Improved
cure rates: The precision offered by IMRT enables radiation
oncologists to deliver a higher dose of radiation needed
to destroy tumors, reducing the likelihood of the tumor returning; |
| · |
Ability
to treat targets simultaneously: IMRT allows radiation oncologists
to deliver separate doses to different targets at the same
time. |
”The most important benefit to patients is better distribution of radiation
to the tumor, which means fewer side-effects resulting from radiation to normal
surrounding tissue,” said Shan Marlette, a medical health physicist at
Marquette General who specializes in radiation protection.
Though the IMRT treatment therapy is not for everyone — about 30 percent
of radiation therapy patients are appropriate candidates — it is already
in demand. Some of the patients who may benefit from IMRT would be those with
head and neck cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, or cancer
that has returned after previous radiation treatments.
”In the long run, this therapy will make treatments more patient-friendly,” Dr.
Thieme said. “It will decrease side-effects and provide better cure rates.”
The IMRT system is one of four capital budget projects comprising $3.6 million
in capital improvements approved in 2005 by the MGHS Board of Trustees. Other
projects include a second Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device, an Emergency
Department Information System (EDIS), and MRI-guided breast biopsy.
For more information, contact Terry Reser, Program Director of
the Upper Michigan Cancer Center, at 906-225-3500 or 1-888-906-HOPE.
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