A Sydney patient has become the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to be treated with game-changing radiation therapy that personalises cancer care using Adaptive Intelligence™, following the installation of the Varian Ethos™ therapy at Icon Cancer Centre Wahroonga.
Ethos™ therapy uses artificial intelligence to plan radiation therapy treatments that are designed to deliver a new level of accuracy. In an Australian first, and third in the world, the technology allows clinicians to adjust how treatment is delivered by monitoring the patient’s internal and external anatomy, such as the shifting of organs or any slight changes in the size or shape of the targeted cancer. Ethos therapy accounts for these movements and allows clinicians to change dose and delivery at every treatment session.
The system enables clinicians to efficiently deliver an entire personalised treatment in a typical 15-minute timeslot. This is significantly shorter compared with other treatment systems that take more than 40 minutes, often due to the manual reconfiguration of the treatment.
For patients like 72-year-old John Buchanan, who became the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to be treated with Varian’s Ethos therapy on 2 March 2020, receiving the latest in radiation therapy treatment can make a big difference.
“I was glad when I was told that I would be a good candidate for this new technology. It means I spend less time in treatment and can get on with my day. From my point of view, receiving treatment that will directly target the prostate bed while avoiding damage to the bladder and bowel is fantastic. The possibility of coming out of the end without further side effects – that’s got to be a positive,” John said.
“To have the latest treatment in Wahroonga really gives me personal confidence and is a huge benefit – it’s quite a move forward for us.”