The Comprehensive Cancer Center at Catawba Valley Medical Center became the first in the region to offer patients access to the world's most advanced cancer treatment - IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy). This new technology enables clinicians to increase the dose of cancer-killing radiation to tumors while minimizing complications in surrounding healthy tissue.

"Cancer patients in the Catawba Valley region now have access to much improved chances for cure at Catawba Valley Medical Center," reported President & CEO J. Anthony Rose. "We have just completed installation of the new radiotherapy system capable of delivering IMRT, the most precise, sophisticated treatment available in the world."

Radiation oncologists at Catawba Valley Medical Center will use the new SmartBeam IMRT system from Varian Medical System to treat patients with prostate, breast, lung, pancreatic, and other cancers where precisely placed beams can be focused to carefully target tumor cells with minimal harm to surrounding healthy tissue.

"Radiation therapy is used today in more than half of all cancer treatments due to its unique clinical advantages," said Dr. W. Reginald Sigmon, Jr. of Sigmon Radiation Oncology. "It is becoming steadily more effective with new technologies such as IMRT that permit us to deliver ultra-precise doses to tumors."

"The Radiation Therapy Center of Catawba Valley Medical Center now has the potential to substantially improve both patient comfort and cure rates by our ability to better protect healthy tissues while delivering more powerful doses to the tumor," said Dr. John O. DelCharco of Sigmon Radiation Oncology. "For years we have faced frustrating challenges. We know that we have a very good chance of eradicating the tumor and possibly curing patients if we can deliver high doses of radiation to localized tumors. On the other hand, high doses can damage patients' surrounding tissues and organs. The IMRT technology increases our opportunities for success."

According to Dr. Shannon K. Tomlinson, who recently joined Sigmon Radiation Oncology from Wake Forest University/Baptist Medical Center, enhancing the dose concentrations to the tumor gives clinicians a much greater chance of completely eradicating the tumor, rather than simply causing a temporary regression. "Cancer cells are fast replicating by nature, so any damage to the genetic structure of these cells by radiation is incredibly powerful, " Tomlinson said. "Additionally, increased optimization enables us to use radiation to treat areas that would have been considered too risky just a few years ago."

The new IMRT technique has already contributed to substantially improved clinical outcomes in patients with prostate cancer, according to studies in the Journal of Radiotherapy and Oncology and the International Journal of Radiotherapy and Oncology.

"The Radiation Therapy program is an important component of our Comprehensive Cancer Center," said Rose. "Our center is designated a community hospital comprehensive cancer program by the American College of Surgeons. Just over 1,400 cancer programs have achieved this accreditation in the U.S," he says. "The Comprehensive Cancer Center was the first in the Catawba Valley and one of the first centers in the state to offer brachytherapy prostate seed implants for men with prostate cancer. Investing in providing IMRT capabilities once again confirms our commitment to improving the health of the people of the Catawba Valley."