ELEKTA WILL SUPPLY UC DAVIS CANCER CENTER RADIATION ONCOLOGY WITH THE NEXT GENERATION RADIATION TREATMENT SYSTEM

ELEKTA WILL SUPPLY UC DAVIS CANCER CENTER RADIATION ONCOLOGY WITH THE

NEXT GENERATION RADIATION TREATMENT SYSTEM

Cancer treatment center reinforces radiation oncology department with

order of Elekta Synergy(TM) system designed for greater accuracy and

effectiveness in treating tumors

The University of California Davis Cancer Center, Radiation Oncology

(Sacramento, Calif. USA), recently ordered an Elekta Synergy(TM) system,

the world's first radiation treatment system with an integrated 3D

imaging system that will enable doctors to obtain cone beam CT images of

patients just before their treatment. This capability will allow

physicians to visualize tumors at the point of treatment to more

precisely target tumors with radiation beams. UC Davis's department of

radiation oncology will accept delivery of the Elekta Synergy(TM) in

2004.

UC Davis Cancer Center acquired Elekta Synergy(TM) to allow imaging of

patients in the treatment position, according to Srinivasan Vijayakumar,

M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology.

Elekta Synergy(TM) system's ability to image the patient in the

treatment position is considered one of the most significant

developments in the last five years toward target-based radiotherapy.

Elekta Synergy(TM), manufactured by Elekta, is the first traditional

medical linear accelerator-based system capable of performing Image-

Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), a new treatment approach that relies on

images of anatomy and disease to guide radiation delivery precisely to

the tumor while sparing healthy tissues.

Elekta is currently taking orders and installing Elekta Synergy(TM)

linear accelerators at leading cancer clinics both in the United States

and Europe.

A new approach to radiation therapy

To determine the precise location of tumors and normal surrounding

tissues, traditional radiotherapy calls for imaging studies to be done

several days before treatment.

"Doctors use these images to develop a treatment plan," Dr. Vijayakumar

says. "However, because tumors are likely to change shape or move in the

pre-treatment period, we have to use a 'margin of error' and treat a

zone around the tumor that is larger than the tumor itself. This

uncertainty about the tumor's exact position has always meant using

lower than desired radiation doses to avoid applying excessive doses to

surrounding normal tissues."

Elekta Synergy(TM) will enable UC Davis Cancer Center radiation

oncologists to obtain images just before treatment with the patient in

the exact position he or she will be treated in. This means not only

less chance for errors in tumor targeting and in patient positioning,

but also the ability to increase the dose to the tumor by virtue of more

certainty in the tumor's location. The goal is to improve the patient's

quality of life and the chances for long-term survival.

Elekta Synergy(TM) enhances advanced radiotherapy techniques

The immediacy and accuracy of Elekta Synergy(TM) will be especially

important for the new, highly targeted forms of radiotherapy, such as

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Simply put, IMRT "paints"

radiation doses of varying intensity on a tumor target - with higher

doses at the tumor center and steeply falling doses closer to the

tumor's outer borders. This IMRT "dose distribution" is highly

customized to the tumor's shape, resulting in the best possible balance

between cancer killing and the sparing of nearby normal tissues and

critical organs. The main challenge in IMRT, however, has been

uncertainty about the tumor's precise location.

"In IMRT, it is vital to place the dose correctly - there's no advantage

to IMRT if you can't precisely place the dose because you can't

visualize the target," Dr. Vijayakumar says.

The benefit of Elekta Synergy(TM) is that imaging the patient just

before treatment allows delivery of IMRT with much greater accuracy and

clinical confidence.

The Elekta Synergy(TM) system at UC Davis Cancer Center should be ready

for clinical use in August 2004. It will be used for treatment of

prostate, lung, head and neck and gynecological cancers. An order for an

Elekta Synergy(TM) S system - the stereotactic extracranial version of

Elekta Synergy(TM) - could come within the next 12-18 months.

UC Davis Radiation Oncology becomes Elekta Center of Distinction

The January 2004 Elekta Synergy(TM) system order follows UC Davis Cancer

Center's acquisition of Elekta's Leksell Gamma Knife® C late last year.

Leksell Gamma Knife® is the gold-standard stereotactic radiosurgery

system for treatment of smaller intracranial lesions and abnormalities.

The two acquisitions have made UC Davis Radiation Oncology an Elekta

Center of Distinction - which describes an Elekta customer that is

uniquely positioned to showcase the complete line of Elekta products,

including Leksell Gamma Knife®, Precise Treatment System(TM) digital

accelerator, PrecisePLAN® treatment planning and Stereotactic Body

Frame®.

Elekta is honored to be part of UC Davis Cancer Center's plans for

taking radiation therapy to the next level. It is also gratifying that a

world-renowned cancer treatment center such as UC Davis Cancer Center

appreciates the proven track record of Leksell Gamma Knife® C and

recognizes the tremendous potential of Elekta Synergy(TM) to improve the

treatment of serious disease.

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