May 13 2010  |  Press Release 

Innovative New Breast Irradiation Treatment Will Serve the Jackson Park Community of Southside Chicago 

CHICAGO, IL (May 13, 2010) Nucletron, a knowledge-based leader in radiation oncology, and Advanced Radiation Therapy (ART), a women’s health company dedicated to the treatment of breast cancer, today announced that Cook County Radiation Oncology (CCRO) at Jackson Park Hospital will implement the AccuBoost partial breast irradiation treatment into their radiation oncology program.

AccuBoost is the first technology to use high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment of breast cancer in a non-invasive way, utilizing real-time mammography imaging to accurately target the radiation dose directly to the lumpectomy site.  A special applicator is positioned to deliver the radiation with great accuracy in conjunction with Nucletron’s microSelectron® HDR brachytherapy afterloader treatment delivery solution.  AccuBoost can be delivered either prior to or after the main external beam portion of a woman’s breast irradiation treatment.

Brachytherapy is a very precise and highly effective form of radiotherapy, in which the radiation source that delivers the required dose of radiation is placed in or close to the tumor itself. 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.

Dr. Nathaniel Holloway, chief radiation oncologist at CCRO, strived to bring this novel breast cancer treatment option to the Jackson Park community, made up of a very large indigent population who may not previously have had access to such a powerful treatment technique. “We wanted to ensure that this new technology is available to all our patients who are most in need” stated Dr. Holloway. “To achieve this, we chose to place this equipment at our Jackson Park location.”

Clinical reports indicate that patients with early stage breast cancer have positive outcomes when treatment involves a full course of whole breast irradiation and boost radiotherapy following a lumpectomy procedure, and AccuBoost is a novel way of providing the boost dose, thereby   increasing the accuracy of the dose-targeting and reducing the exposure to healthy tissue.  This provides the potential for AccuBoost to improve patient outcomes and minimize side effects.

“By reducing the skin dose and aiming the radiation tangentially, AccuBoost greatly reduces the chance of skin reaction and radiation dosage dose to the chest wall,” stated Paul LeVan, chief medical physicist at CCRO. “The AccuBoost system allows the CCRO doctors to visualize the site where the cancer was removed and treat the surrounding area, reducing the amount of tissue exposed to the radiation dose”.

“Using the AccuBoost treatment allows you to see what you treat and treat what you see.” stated Piran Sioshansi, Ph.D. president and CEO of ART.

AccuBoost systems are presently installed in 14 states across the U.S., with four more installations pending in May.

About ART
ART is a women’s health company dedicated to the advancement of partial breast irradiation with the goal of reducing the cancer recurrence rate and minimizing radiation related complications. ART’s AccuBoost system combines real-time, image-guidance with non-invasive, high-dose rate brachytherapy to deliver a focused dose to the lumpectomy site. The AccuBoost technology is based on the premise that the best method to immobilize, image and target breast tissue is via mammography. As such, AccuBoost gives the clinicians the comfort and confidence to “see what you treat and treat what you see” and significantly reduces the unintentional exposure to the patient’s heart and lungs. For more information, visit http://www.accuboost.com/.

About Nucletron
Nucletron provides state of the art radiotherapy solutions for cancer treatment that meet the evolving needs of patients, their caregivers and healthcare professionals around the world.  Nucletron has unmatched global leadership in brachytherapy, a very precise, highly effective and well-tolerated treatment option for healthcare providers, tailored to the needs of individual patients. 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.