TAIWAN TREATS PATIENT WITH NEW CANCER-FIGHTING RADIOTHERAPY SYSTEM FROM ELEKTA Press Release Stockholm, Sweden, March 12, 2009 A patient with prostate cancer has received treatment using Elekta VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Taiwan. VMAT enables dramatically reduced treatment times and more precise targeting of tumors by simultaneously controlling all aspects of the treatment. It constantly changes the shape of the beam to conform to the shape of the area that needs to receive radiation while at the same time sparing the surrounding critical tissue. Like most organs, the prostate can move during treatment. By delivering radiation in less time, VMAT technology minimizes the opportunity for organ motion, which further enhances the precision of the radiation treatment. NTUH treated the patient with the comprehensive Elekta VMAT solution that includes ERGO++ treatment planning software. The ERGO++ treatment planning system uses a special algorithm to perform fast, accurate dose calculations. The patient was treated on Elekta Synergy®, a multi-functional linear accelerator that enables clinicians to both image and treat patients in the same frame of reference, at the time of treatment. Jason Chia-Hsien Cheng, M.D., M.S., Ph.D. is Division Chief of the Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, and Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine at NTUH. He says, “Our first patient undergoing VMAT is a 76-year-old retired gentleman with prostate cancer. He is a father with many children. He was treated with 200cGy via a co-planar single arc, and the treatment time was less than three minutes.” Taiwan's first VMAT patient benefited from improved technology, with better conformity of tumor coverage and a shorter treatment time than the current IMRT treatments allow, says Dr. Cheng. “We appreciate the advantages of VMAT with shorter daily treatment times and the best target conformity. We also see a large number of patients in our department, so it's important to have efficient patient treatment flow.” NTUH is one of the biggest hospitals in Taiwan, and more than 200 cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy every day. “We are excited and honored to be the first hospital in the Asian Pacific area to start a VMAT program,” says Dr. Cheng. “In the future, we expect that the better dose coverage of VMAT should bring better outcomes and sparing of critical organs in the head and neck and other complex areas.” The annual incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide, he adds. “If we can treat patients more efficiently, we can help more people with precise, comfortable treatment, and speed up our patient flow as well.” For further information, please contact: Lena Schattauer, Investor Relations, Elekta AB Tel: +46 8 587 257 22, +46 70 595 51 00, e-mail: lena.schattauer@elekta.com About Elekta Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated state of the art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible today. Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group. Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.
TAIWAN TREATS PATIENT WITH NEW CANCER-FIGHTING RADIOTHERAPY SYSTEM FROM ELEKTA
| Source: Elekta AB