The Latest Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment Technology Comes to the Delaware Valley; Cancer Treatment Centers of America First to Offer TomoTherapy

Business Wire, Nov 8, 2005

PHILADELPHIA -- Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), scheduled to open its Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia on December 19, 2005, will be the first hospital in the Delaware Valley to offer the world's most advanced cancer treatment -- TomoTherapy HI-ART System(R). For the growing number of cancer patients who have reached the tolerance dose of traditional radiation, TomoTherapy offers a new, and for some, the only option for treatment.

The extremely accurate TomoTherapy HI-ART System(R) is the first device to provide 3-D imaging immediately prior to each treatment to verify the location of a patient's tumor. In addition, the system's ability to deliver treatment from any angle enables radiation treatment to be dispensed accurately and precisely to the tumor itself, minimizing damage to healthy cells and reducing radiation's side effects such as nausea, hair loss and fatigue.

"We never stop searching for and providing powerful and innovative therapies to heal the whole person, improve quality of life, and restore hope. Providing our patients with the latest and most technologically-advanced treatment options is a high priority. Over 8 years ago, we introduced IMRT as a treatment option for our patients. TomoTherapy is another exciting technological leap in the delivery of image-guided radiation, the kind of treatment option that we would want for our own mothers. Our experience with TomoTherapy at our other hospitals confirmed how important it was that we introduce to this region this exciting new treatment option," said John McNeil, President and CEO of CTCA's Eastern Regional Medical Center.

"Traditional therapies can project radiation onto the tumor from only a few different directions, with beams passing through the same healthy tissue to reach the tumor. The TomoTherapy system delivers radiation in a 360-degree spiral, increasing the energy to destroy the cancer while diffusing the exposure to healthy tissue," notes Lydia Komarnicky, M.D., Chief of Radiation Oncology at CTCA's Eastern Regional Medical Center. "This is a promising new weapon in the war on cancer."

This development benefits victims of all stages of cancer, particularly the growing number of patients who have reached the tolerance dose of traditional radiation. Normal cells are able to withstand a limited amount of radiation exposure, which makes TomoTherapy ideal for patients who have undergone numerous traditional radiation treatments.

TomoTherapy is a marriage of two types of technologies--spiral CT (computed tomography) scanning, and spiral IMRT (intensity modulated regulation therapy). CT images verify the precise size, shape and location of a patient's tumor. This information becomes part of the treatment plan, calculated daily before every treatment session begins. One of the most important recent advances in radiation treatment, IMRT involves changing the size, shape and intensity of the radiation beam to conform to the specific dimensions and position of a patient's tumor each day. This minimizes damage to healthy tissue, can minimize side effects and is particularly important for tumors near sensitive organs.

Unlike traditional radiation therapy, in which relatively large radiation beams are directed from two to six directions to kill a tumor, helical (spiral shaped) TomoTherapy uses hundreds of pencil-like "beamlets" that rotate around the tumor, focusing in from all directions, resulting in a more precise delivery of radiation with potentially fewer side effects.

About CTCA

Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America(R) provides advanced Patient Empowerment Medicine(SM) through a network of cancer treatment hospitals and community oncology programs in Illinois, Oklahoma, Washington and Philadelphia (will be opening its doors in December 2005). The facilities provide a comprehensive, patient-centered and multidisciplinary path to cancer care by integrating cutting-edge medical treatments with time-honored support therapies such as nutrition, naturopathy, psychological counseling and spiritual therapy. For more information, visit www.cancercenter.com or call 1.800.392.4055.