The first in a planned series of new radiotherapy centers aimed at improving access to advanced treatments for millions of Indian cancer patients has been officially opened in Noida. Fortis International Oncology Centre, a joint initiative between International Oncology and Fortis Healthcare, is equipped with advanced radiotherapy equipment and software from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR).
Dignitaries at yesterday's official inauguration ceremony – including Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India – were given a tour of the facility to see Varian's Trilogy® medical linear accelerator in action. Trilogy, capable of delivering a full range of advanced radiotherapy and radiosurgery techniques including RapidArc® radiotherapy, has been operational at Noida for four months.
The new center is among the first in India to offer RapidArc, which enables clinicians to deliver a highly-precise image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment in as little as one or two revolutions of the treatment machine around the patient, much faster than is possible with conventional IMRT. Faster treatments allow for greater precision, since there is less chance of patient or tumor movement during treatment delivery and, with less time on the treatment couch, also allow for greater patient comfort.
Pradeep K. Jaisingh, managing director and CEO of International Oncology Services Pvt Ltd, says, "There is a tremendous gap in advanced radiotherapy services in India and we are trying to fill this gap by establishing a number of dedicated oncology centers closer to the Indian population over the next two years, the first of which is here in Noida. The focus of our company is to widen availability of a US-standard of cancer care to Indian patients."
"Current radiotherapy provision in India is nowhere near sufficient for a nation of over a billion people and advanced treatments tend to only be available in the major conurbations, which means people travel large distances and are inconvenienced during treatment. By providing this oncology centre in Noida and with our second facility due to open in Mumbai in three months, we feel we can make a major difference to the treatment options for India's huge cancer population." There are fewer than 400 radiotherapy machines in India and almost half of these are outdated cobalt machines.
Pradeep K. Jaisingh added, "Varian has technology that we believe offers our patients a superior treatment and we plan to build on our relationship with Varian going forward."
International Oncology's model is to equip, staff and run state-of-the-art oncology centers within existing hospitals. With eight such centers expected to open in India in the next two years, the group plans to follow this up by implementing a similar model in South America, South-East Asia and the Middle East in due course.
Jeff Marcus, head of Oncology Systems sales for Varian, says, "International Oncology has ambitious expansion plans and Varian is pleased to be supplying our advanced radiotherapy technology for their growing number of oncology centers."
Varian has also supplied a full suite of brachytherapy equipment and software at Fortis International Oncology Centre.
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