Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Thursday, April 02 2020 - 08:00
AsiaNet
Icon Group Partners with Varian to Advance Cancer Care in the Southern Hemisphere
SYDNEY, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

The Icon Cancer Centre Wahroonga in Australia has treated its first cancer 
patient with Varian Ethos(TM). This artificial intelligence (AI)-driven 
holistic adaptive therapy solution is designed to deliver an entire adapted 
treatment in a typical 15-minute timeslot.

Icon Cancer Centre is part of Icon Group, Australia's largest dedicated cancer 
care provider with a growing reach into Asia. Icon Group have been long-term 
global partners of Varian and have continued to support Varian in the evolution 
of radiation therapy technology.

Kenneth Tan, president, Varian Asia Pacific said: "We are proud of our 
long-standing strategic partnership with Icon. As consistent early adopters of 
technology, they are at the forefront of bringing the latest treatment options 
to cancer patients in the Southern Hemisphere. Radiation therapy has evolved 
immensely over the past decade. By harnessing the power of AI and working with 
partners such as Icon, we are taking another step forward in achieving our 
vision of living in a world without fear of cancer."

Adaptive therapy provides the ability to personalize the patient's treatment 
based on their anatomy and position at the time of treatment. The goal is to 
better target the tumor, reduce dose to healthy tissue, and potentially improve 
overall outcomes.

Prostate cancer patient, John Buchanan was the first patient in the southern 
hemisphere to be treated with adaptive Ethos therapy and is grateful to be able 
to access the latest in technology.

"The first six treatments have gone smoothly, and I haven't experienced any 
side effects. From my point of view, receiving treatment that directly targets 
my prostate while avoiding damage to the bladder and bowel is fantastic," said 
Mr Buchanan. 

The streamlined workflow of Ethos therapy is enabled by its AI-driven planning 
and contouring capabilities. Physicians define their clinical intent from 
pre-defined templates and the initial treatment plan is generated based on the 
physician's pre-defined clinical objectives. The treatment is adapted in 
response to changes in the patient's anatomy and the tumor's shape and 
position, at the time of treatment. The ability of Ethos to enable on-couch 
adaptive treatment puts the patient at the center of care.

Icon Radiation Oncologist, Dr Amy Teh says early results have proved positive. 
"Early Ethos therapy experience from Icon is showing promising results," said 
Dr Teh. "In a prostate patient, where the target volume is highly dependent on 
bladder and rectal positioning, we have used the AI-driven online adaptive 
workflow on the Ethos platform to effectively and efficiently adapt to the new 
position of the bladder and rectum each day. This has allowed superior coverage 
of the true target. This technology marks another step forward in the 
advancement of radiation therapy - taking personalized medicine to another 
level - allowing us to ensure more dose to the tumor target, and less dose to 
surrounding healthy organs."

Ethos therapy offers the use of multimodality images (MR, PET, CT) registered 
with daily iterative CBCT images at the console. By providing an up-to-date 
view of the patient's anatomy in multiple imaging modality views, Ethos therapy 
provides clinicians the confidence to make more informed adaptive treatment 
decisions. The solution is built on Varian's latest treatment delivery 
technology and provides fast imaging and treatment delivery without 
compromising quality. 

Icon are members of the Varian Adaptive Intelligence Consortium contributing to 
the collaborative development of clinical and technical aspects of radiation, 
including Ethos therapy. 

Icon Group CEO, Mark Middleton is proud of Icon's longstanding relationship 
with Varian and how together they are revolutionising cancer care. "We have 
always been early adopters of Varian's technology and share an unwavering 
commitment to the continual advancement of cancer care. Our early use of Ethos 
therapy has shown clear benefits to the patient and we look forward to 
continuing to develop this technology alongside Varian to keep improving 
outcomes for cancer patients." 

About Varian
At Varian (NYSE: VAR), 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 10,000 employees across 70 locations 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.

Important Safety Information
Radiation treatments may cause side effects that can vary depending on the part 
of the body being treated. The most frequent ones are typically temporary and 
may include, but are not limited to, irritation to the respiratory, digestive, 
urinary or reproductive systems, fatigue, nausea, skin irritation, and hair 
loss. In some patients, they can be severe. Treatment sessions may vary in 
complexity and time. Radiation treatment is not appropriate for all cancers.

Press Contact

Christine Hogseth-Gill
Head of Public Affairs, Asia Pacific & Japan
+65 9388 1352 
christine.hogseth-gill@varian.com

Investor Relations Contact

Anshul Maheshwari
Vice President, Investor Relations
+1 (650) 424-5631 
investors@varian.com
 
SOURCE: Varian