Clinical data on TomoTherapy System presented at AAPM 2015

Accuray IncorporatedJul 14 2015

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY) announced today that studies on the clinical use of the TomoTherapy^® System continue to demonstrate its mainstream use and the benefits of its gold-standard treatment planning and delivery capabilities. More than 30 studies were presented during poster or oral sessions at the 57th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) held in Anaheim, California July 12 – July 16, 2015.

Almost 13 years since commercial launch of the original TomoTherapy System, customers continue to explore the boundaries of clinical utilization for this innovative tool used when radiation is indicated to treat routine to complex cancer cases. Research highlights include:

Targeted treatment minimizes impact of radiation on surrounding healthy tissue.

• Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and UT Southwestern Medical Center presented the first clinical applications and associated dosimetric results of TomoHelical™ based spatially fractionated radiotherapy (HT-GRID) for deep seated tumors. Ten previously treated GRID patients were selected and each case was re-planned either in HT-GRID or LINAC-GRID, using the same prescribed dose. While the doses to organs at risk were comparable between the HT-GRID and LINAC-GRID, HT-GRID was able to better spare some critical structures.

Data underscore the benefits of the TomoTherapy System for lung cancer patients.

• For patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC), characteristics of TomoHelical™ and TomoDirect™ IMRT plans were compared with conventional IMRT plans. Results showed that both the TomoHelical and TomoDirect IMRT plans provided better target coverage when compared to conventional IMRT plans. Further, TomoHelical plans had better sparing effect than IMRT on organs at risk (OAR) including the spinal cord and heart, while radiation dose to the esophagus was significantly lower in TomoDirect plans than IMRT plans. Research was conducted at Samsung Medical Center.

Study reinforces TomoTherapy System use for intracranial radiosurgery.

• Researchers at Clinica Luganese in Switzerland evaluated the TomoHDA™ System's ability to deliver intracranial radiosurgery. Using a pig cadaver cranium, the accuracy of registration to bone, the sensitivity of MVCT imaging to position offsets, and end-to-end delivery precision were assessed. Results indicate the system provides sub-millimeter accuracy and is a viable option for intracranial radiosurgery.

TomoTherapy System treatment plans demonstrate advantages in rare cancers.

• A study conducted at UCLA evaluated the correlation between improved clinical outcomes versus required treatment dose for adjuvant mesothelioma radiotherapy with either the TomoTherapy System or conventional 3D techniques. Results showed the TomoTherapy^® System provided dramatically better target coverage and less heterogeneity, even for large and irregular treatment sites, while providing better sparing of the cord and esophagus, and without any increase in radiation pneumonitis. As superior local control probability is closely associated with improved target coverage, use of the TomoTherapy System results in significantly better local control over traditional 3D techniques for mesothelioma.

"The TomoTherapy treatment planning system has set the standard for the radiation therapy industry, enabling clinicians to create precise treatment plans for a wide variety of clinical applications quickly, easily and intuitively," said Calvin Maurer, Ph.D., vice president and chief technology officer at Accuray. "Data presented at AAPM further demonstrate the system's treatment plans routinely deliver a homogenous dose distribution to the target with excellent conformality and sparing of OARs for a broad range of tumor types."

Educational Event

Accuray hosted an educational symposium titled, "Precision in Practice™ with Accuray Technology" featuring Sharon Qi, Ph.D., DABR, Assistant Professor, Division of Medical Physics, University of California Los Angeles Center for Radiation Oncology, and Dylan Casey, Ph.D., Manager, R&D Physics, Accuray Incorporated, in addition to two invited presenters on the CyberKnife^® System. Dr. Qi discussed the center's experience using TomoTherapy System treatment plans, providing a comparative Pareto analysis, and Dr. Casey shared information about the system's new Delivery Analysis software.