A Swiss cancer clinic is among the first in the world to use a new, faster radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems to treat a child patient. A 12-year-old girl with Hodgkin's lymphoma was treated using Varian's RapidArc technique at the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI) in Bellinzona.
"Treating children with cancer is always challenging but RapidArc enables us to deliver extremely precise treatments much more quickly than would have been possible previously, making it a much more comfortable experience for the patient while minimiSing damage to healthy tissue," said radiation oncologist Dr Alessandra Franzetti-Pellanda. "Faster treatments mean there is less chance for the patient to move during delivery, which helps precision.” Dr. Franzetti-Pellanda worked with head medical physicist Dr Antonella Fogliata and medical oncologist Dr Pierluigi Brazzola to carry out the pioneering treatment.
"Lymphoma is a good candidate for radiotherapy because it's a disease that is highly responsive to radiation, even the lower doses that we use in pediatric cases" said Dr. Fogliata. "In this RapidArc treatment the bilateral lung and the lymphatic chains were treated at once using a technique called a simultaneous integrated boost and we are very pleased with the response."
