May 20 2010  |  Press Release 

Nucletron aims to bring advanced treatments such as brachytherapy within easier reach with the new establishment in Russia 

State-of-the-art radiotherapy solutions developed by Dutch oncology specialist Nucletron could soon be available to more patients throughout the former Soviet Union. With the establishment of its new Moscow office earlier this year, Nucletron aims to bring advanced treatments such as brachytherapy within easier reach of cancer sufferers within Russia and the surrounding CIS countries.

This entire region has a large unmet need for cancer care. In Russia alone, there are 2.5 million oncology patients, with around 480,000 more diagnosed every year. Diagnosis is usually late, at stages III and IV of the disease. This negatively affects the survival rate and necessitates more expensive medical and drug treatment. To combat these problems, the Russian Federation launched its National Oncology Program in 2009 with the aims of improving the prevention and early detection of cancer, ensuring better treatment of oncology patients, improving efficiency, and increasing patients’ lifespan.
 

“By 2012, identification and treatment of cancer patients must already take place at stages I and II of the disease”, said the Russian Minister of Health Tatiana Golikova during the presentation of the program.
 

Nucletron is well placed to meet these goals as the company has unique expertise in brachytherapy – a technique offering highly effective, well-tolerated treatment in early-stage cancers. Nucletron’s brachytherapy products and software enable clinicians to pinpoint tumors with great accuracy and target them with precise doses of radiation whilst minimizing damage to the healthy surrounding tissue. Nucletron also develops radiotherapy solutions for later-stage cancers, and recently delivered several important pieces of equipment to key oncology centers as part of the National Oncology Program’s drive to upgrade medical facilities. These included a new Simulix Evolution for the Moscow Oncology Research Institute (MORI) and also for the Regional Chelyabinsk Oncology Center, plus an microSelectron HDR afterloader for the Omsk Regional Oncology Dispenser.

Through its new Moscow office, Nucletron aims to strengthen and increase its market presence by meeting healthcare professionals throughout the CIS, participating in congresses, and raising its profile in specialist medical media. It will also enable the company to better support medical professionals and its own distributors, monitor healthcare market needs, and create a demand for better standards in healthcare in Russia and other CIS countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. These are key emerging markets with significant potential for Nucletron to continue its geographical expansion with reliable products and services that improve patient care.



Russian Minister of Health Tatiana Golikova

 
About Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a high-precision radiation therapy, in which the radiation source used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors is placed in or close to the tumor itself. Brachytherapy offers a precise, highly effective and well tolerated treatment option tailored to the needs of individual patients. The precision brachytherapy approach allows a physician to concentrate a high dose of radiation in a small area, minimizing damage to nearby, healthy body tissue and organs, over a shorter treatment period. Find more about brachytherapy on http://www.aboutbrachytherapy.com/.

About Nucletron
Nucletron provides state-of-the-art radiotherapy solutions for cancer treatment that meet the evolving needs of patients, their careers and healthcare professionals around the world. Nucletron has unmatched global leadership in brachytherapy, a very precise, highly effective and well tolerated treatment option tailored to the needs of individual patients and able to meet the requirements of healthcare providers. We work with clinical teams to constantly improve and develop an innovative portfolio of integrated products, software and services that assures excellent patient outcomes. Headquartered in Veenendaal, the Netherlands, Nucletron employs more than 500 employees, with offices in 15 countries and products available in more than 100 countries around the world. Please visit http://www.nucletron.com/ to learn more about our healthcare solutions.

Terminology
LDR = Low Dose Rate. This kind of radiation therapy, developed in the 1990s, involved treating a larger body area using a smaller dose of radiation per treatment. An alternative nowadays is:
HDR = High Dose Rate therapy, offering a more targeted form of treatment with higher but more accurate doses of radiation over fewer sessions.
Simulators help clinicians to pinpoint and plan the treatment for later-stage cancers that will be treated using radiation delivered via an external beam.
mHDR = micro-selectron HDR afterloader, a piece of equipment with software enabling clinicians to accurately pinpoint and treat tumors.
 
http://www.nucletron.com/
http://www.aboutbrachytherapy.com/