Elekta's revolution encourages radiotherapy evolution

ELEKTA'S REVOLUTION ENCOURAGES RADIOTHERAPY EVOLUTION

Elekta Synergy(TM) set to lead the way in image-guided radiotherapy

Exciting data presented today at the American Society for Therapeutic

Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting, demonstrate the enormous

potential for the new Elekta Synergy(TM) system to significantly advance

radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients.

One in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime and four out

of ten cancer patients will receive radiotherapy as part of their

treatment. Radiation is directed at a patient's tumour in order to kill

cancerous cells, however, radiation can also affect surrounding healthy

cells if it is not directed exactly. Traditionally, a scanned image is

taken prior to treatment to identify the exact location of the cancer

tumour. However, an enlarged radiation field is often used to account

for the uncertainty of the tumours' position. This uncertainty can be

due to a number of causes:

· The accuracy with which the patient can be positioned on the therapy

machine.

· Movement within the body (e.g. movement caused by breathing).

· Changes between the time of scan and actual treatment.

The data presented by Dr Mark Oldham, Staff Physicist and Daniel

Letourneau from William Beaumont Hospital, Michigan, USA, show that by

combining an X-ray volume imaging system and radiotherapy equipment (a

medical accelerator) to provide 'real time' images of the tumour during

treatment, the image quality and treatment accuracy is significantly

improved.(ref:1,2) A preliminary study for prostate cancer treatment

indicated that it would be possible to attain a planning target volume

margin expansion less than 5mm compared to a conventional 10mm margin

(within a 20 minute treatment slot).(ref:1)

Mark Oldham said, "Integrated imaging and treatment provides a

significant opportunity to improve the practice of radiation therapy and

enhance the outlook for cancer patients. The data presented at ASTRO,

together with previous data suggests that the introduction of Elekta

Synergy(TM) will be well received by radiation oncologists and patients

alike."

The data presented at ASTRO further supports encouraging data presented

at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO),

which reports on the clinical use of Elekta Synergy(TM), describing it

as having enormous potential for image-guided radiotherapy and being the

current state-of-the-art in image acquisition, reconstruction and

processing.(ref:3,4) Key findings from the data showed:

· Using repeat scans to account for tumour position and movement

resulted in the reduction of systematic errors from 0.4-1.3cm (SD) to

0.2-0.6cm (SD).

· A further reduction in systematic errors to 0.1-0.3cm (SD) was

obtained by treating patients with a small day-to-day variation (<1cm

SD) with adaptive radiotherapy and all remaining patients with image-

guided radiotherapy.

Additional data presented at ESTRO demonstrate that online

(simultaneous) imaging and adaptation of a treatment plan to the actual

shape and position of the target volume (tumour) will improve the

outcome in specific cancer radiotherapy treatment cases.(ref:5)

The success of Elekta Synergy(TM) has been brought about through close

collaboration between Elekta and the following research sites:

· Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada

· William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

· Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK

· The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Volker Stieber, Elekta Executive Vice President - Technology Development

& Operations, acknowledged the aptness of the new product's name,

"Synergy is defined as two or more entities working together, wherein

the sum is greater than each individual's contribution. Elekta

Synergy(TM) adds dedicated imaging technology to a proven treatment

platform, creating a system that is truly more than the sum of its

parts."

Elekta Synergy(TM) system is pending 510(k) pre-market clearance and is

not currently available for sale or distribution in the USA.

Notes to editors:

· For further information regarding Elekta Synergy(TM) and other Elekta

products, please visit www.elekta.com

· Images of Elekta Synergy(TM) can be accessed at the following website

address: www.elekta.com/investors