Icon Group Partners with Varian to Advance Cancer Care in the Southern Hemisphere

SYDNEY, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Icon Cancer Centre Wahroonga in Australia has treated its first cancer patient with Varian Ethos™. This artificial intelligence (AI)-driven holistic adaptive therapy solution is designed to deliver an entire adapted treatment in a typical 15-minute timeslot.

Icon Cancer Centre is part of Icon Group, Australia's largest dedicated cancer care provider with a growing reach into Asia. Icon Group have been long-term global partners of Varian and have continued to support Varian in the evolution of radiation therapy technology.

Kenneth Tan, president, Varian Asia Pacific said: "We are proud of our long-standing strategic partnership with Icon. As consistent early adopters of technology, they are at the forefront of bringing the latest treatment options to cancer patients in the Southern Hemisphere. Radiation therapy has evolved immensely over the past decade. By harnessing the power of AI and working with partners such as Icon, we are taking another step forward in achieving our vision of living in a world without fear of cancer."

Adaptive therapy provides the ability to personalize the patient's treatment based on their anatomy and position at the time of treatment. The goal is to better target the tumor, reduce dose to healthy tissue, and potentially improve overall outcomes.

Prostate cancer patient, John Buchanan was the first patient in the southern hemisphere to be treated with adaptive Ethos therapy and is grateful to be able to access the latest in technology.

"The first six treatments have gone smoothly, and I haven't experienced any side effects. From my point of view, receiving treatment that directly targets my prostate while avoiding damage to the bladder and bowel is fantastic," said Mr Buchanan.

The streamlined workflow of Ethos therapy is enabled by its AI-driven planning and contouring capabilities. Physicians define their clinical intent from pre-defined templates and the initial treatment plan is generated based on the physician's pre-defined clinical objectives. The treatment is adapted in response to changes in the patient's anatomy and the tumor's shape and position, at the time of treatment. The ability of Ethos to enable on-couch adaptive treatment puts the patient at the center of care.

Icon Radiation Oncologist, Dr Amy Teh says early results have proved positive. "Early Ethos therapy experience from Icon is showing promising results," said Dr Teh. "In a prostate patient, where the target volume is highly dependent on bladder and rectal positioning, we have used the AI-driven online adaptive workflow on the Ethos platform to effectively and efficiently adapt to the new position of the bladder and rectum each day. This has allowed superior coverage of the true target. This technology marks another step forward in the advancement of radiation therapy – taking personalized medicine to another level – allowing us to ensure more dose to the tumor target, and less dose to surrounding healthy organs."

Ethos therapy offers the use of multimodality images (MR, PET, CT) registered with daily iterative CBCT images at the console. By providing an up-to-date view of the patient's anatomy in multiple imaging modality views, Ethos therapy provides clinicians the confidence to make more informed adaptive treatment decisions. The solution is built on Varian's latest treatment delivery technology and provides fast imaging and treatment delivery without compromising quality.

Icon are members of the Varian Adaptive Intelligence Consortium contributing to the collaborative development of clinical and technical aspects of radiation, including Ethos therapy.

Icon Group CEO, Mark Middleton is proud of Icon's longstanding relationship with Varian and how together they are revolutionising cancer care. "We have always been early adopters of Varian's technology and share an unwavering commitment to the continual advancement of cancer care. Our early use of Ethos therapy has shown clear benefits to the patient and we look forward to continuing to develop this technology alongside Varian to keep improving outcomes for cancer patients."

About Varian
At Varian (NYSE: VAR), we envision a world without fear of cancer. For more than 70 years, we have developed, built and delivered innovative cancer care technologies and solutions for our clinical partners around the globe to help them treat millions of patients each year. With an Intelligent Cancer Care approach, we are harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to enhance cancer treatment and expand access to care. Our 10,000 employees across 70 locations keep the patient and our clinical partners at the center of our thinking as we power new victories in cancer care. Because, for cancer patients everywhere, their fight is our fight. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.

Important Safety Information
Radiation treatments may cause side effects that can vary depending on the part of the body being treated. The most frequent ones are typically temporary and may include, but are not limited to, irritation to the respiratory, digestive, urinary or reproductive systems, fatigue, nausea, skin irritation, and hair loss. In some patients, they can be severe. Treatment sessions may vary in complexity and time. Radiation treatment is not appropriate for all cancers.

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Christine Hogseth-Gill
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+65 9388 1352
christine.hogseth-gill@varian.com

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SOURCE Varian Medical Systems