West Penn Oncologists Introduce Breakthrough Cancer Therapy
TomoTherapy Radiation Delivery System Sets New Standard for Treatment of Malignant Disease
Physicians at West Penn Hospital were the first in the region to introduce TomoTherapy, the most advanced system for radiation delivery. West Penn Hospital is the only hospital in the tri-state area and one of just four hospitals in Pennsylvania to offer this unique technology which enables physicians to plan, verify and deliver radiation therapy more accurately than ever before.
“Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy revolutionized the field of radiation oncology and TomoTherapy is the next generation of that incredible technology,” said Judith Figura, MD, Chief of Radiation Oncology at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital.
“This is the most exciting development in radiation therapy in the past 20 years and it will open doors to many patients who previously were not good candidates for treatment.”
TomoTherapy’s revolutionary technology employs a two-step treatment process to deliver radiation specifically to the tumor site, minimizing exposure to adjacent healthy tissue.
First, a computed tomography (CT) image is taken before each treatment to pinpoint the exact size, shape and location of cancer cells. Next, when treatment begins, the TomoTherapy Hi-ART system directs thin beams of radiation from every point on a spiral surrounding the patient. This precise image-guided treatment shapes radiation to the tumor and protects critical healthy organs.
By protecting healthy tissue as much as possible, TomoTherapy reduces the side effects of radiation therapy in many patients and enables physicians to increase the dosage of radiation to cancerous tissue.
TomoTherapy proves especially useful for treating prostate cancer, brain tumors, head and neck cancer, lung cancer and in providing total body irradiation for patients undergoing bone marrow transplant.