All About Cancer

TomoTherapy at UVa

One of the world's most innovative Radiation Therapy systems comes to Virginia

Patients in the Mid-Atlantic now have access to one of the worlds’ most advanced radiation treatment systems. In 2004, the University of Virginia Health System installed a $2.7 million TomoTherapy Hi-Art System, one of very few in the country and the first in Virginia to offer this state-of-the-art treatment option to cancer patients and their families and physicians.

How is Tomotherapy different?   Unlike traditional radiation therapy, which generally delivers treatment to a tumor from a few different directions, the TomoTherapy System precisely pinpoints the tumor and delivers radiation from 360 degrees. “This reduces high-dose exposure of healthy tissue to radiation and could reduce the side effects for our patients,” said Dr. James Larner, chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at U.Va. Radiation is delivered by a beam in a helical pattern, from any point in a 360-degree circle around the patient. This results in more localized and accurate treatment of the tumor – with less damage to healthy tissue.

Pinpointing the tumor  The TomoTherapy System is also one of the first devices to provide 3-D imaging immediately before each treatment to verify the location of a patient’s tumor. The ability to do 3-D imaging increases precision and ensures that radiation hits only where it is needed. “Often between treatments a patient’s tumor can move.  So by verifying before each treatment, a patient’s tumor can be precisely targeted, increasing accuracy of delivery,” Larner said.

How it works  Before treatment the patient moves through the machine for a localizing 3-D CT (computerized tomography) image to verify the shape, size and location of the tumor. Based on this localizing image, the TomoTherapy unit is adjusted before treatment to precisely treat the tumor.  The patient then moves through the machine again where radiation is delivered in a helical pattern (360 degrees) to the tumor.  Each procedure takes about fifteen to twenty-five minutes.

Ground-breaking innovation  U.Va. has also been named one of twenty-four Centers of Clinical Excellence established by TomoTherapy to lead innovation and research into new radiation techniques. Along those lines, Dr. Paul Read, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, will direct U.Va.'s efforts to extend the use of Tomotherapy to perform Stereotactic Radiotherapy to treat metastatic cancer in new ways. “Our goal is to win the war against cancer,” says John Barni, CEO of Wisconsin-based TomoTherapy Inc, manufacturer of the system.

What cancers does TomoTherapy treat?  The TomoTherapy System is best suited to treat cancers that have a tendency to change location between treatments, such as:

  • Head and Neck Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Liver Cancer
  • Brain, Skull and Spinal -Based Tumors
  • Lung Cancer
  • Sarcomas

For more information on U.Va.’s TomoTherapy system, patients and physicians can call Dr. Read at the Department of Radiation Oncology at (434) 924-5191