Novant Health Cancer Institute first in the nation to offer RapidArc Dynamic radiation therapy

Novant Health Cancer Institute is the first medical center in the nation to introduce Varian’s RapidArc Dynamic technology, a groundbreaking precision radiation therapy that delivers higher, more precise doses to tumors while sparing surrounding tissue. Almost any patient who is eligible for radiation oncology can benefit.

RapidArc Dynamic strengthens Novant Health Cancer Institute’s position as a national leader in precision radiation care, complementing other advanced tools such as Varian's HyperArc technology.

HyperArc, already in use at several Novant Health medical centers, has set a high standard for treating intracranial tumors, serving as an efficient alternative to GammaKnife by targeting multiple brain metastases at once. Like RapidArc Dynamic, HyperArc reduces treatment times and improves patient comfort, underscoring the institute’s commitment to innovation.

Similarly to RapidArc Dynamic, HyperArc provides a better overall patient experience by cutting down on treatment time, increasing patient comfort and providing a more tolerable experience.

“With HyperArc, I see patients going in and out with no complaints,” said director of physics Lalith Kumaraswamy, PhD. Now that treatment using RapidArc Dynamic has officially started at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, the goal of the radiation oncology team is to deliver that same experience.

RapidArc Dynamic builds on the capabilities of the Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator (LINAC), which already allows 360-degree tumor targeting with RapidArc, an established radiation therapy technology.

The key difference between RapidArc and RapidArc Dynamic is the ability of RapidArc Dynamic to pause at any point during treatment to make dosing even more precise. This allows for more effective tumor targeting and better preservation of surrounding healthy tissue.

The LINAC can also stop and shape the radiation beams more precisely with RapidArc Dynamic, said Kumaraswamy. And with enhanced computing power, RapidArc Dynamic can generate highly targeted treatment plans in less time, increasing both treatment efficiency and patient convenience.

“RapidArc Dynamic allows us to precisely image the tumor and deliver a higher dose of radiation only to the cancerous area while avoiding surrounding tissues,” said Novant Health Radiation Oncologist Andrew Fairchild. “This evolution of radiation treatment means better preservation of healthy tissue and, ultimately, better outcomes.”

Since RapidArc Dynamic is a brand-new technology, the radiation oncology team is constantly assessing how many treatments patients need to see effective results. Previous advances in radiation technologies reduced the treatment course from 30-40 fractions to as few as five.

RapidArc Dynamic may help push those boundaries even further, or at least keep fractions on the lower end, a critical advantage for patients traveling long distances to receive care.

Kumaraswamy is hopeful that RapidArc Dynamic will also cut down on treatment time. “Whereas now you might need 20 minutes for a treatment, we’re looking at 10 minutes, possibly less, with RapidArc Dynamic,” he said.

The Varian TrueBeam LINAC’s RapidArc Dynamic technology is offered at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center.

The Varian TrueBeam LINAC’s HyperArc technologies are offered at the following facilities: Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center, Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center, Novant Health Wallace Cancer Institute, Novant Health Weisiger Cancer Institute, and Novant Health Cancer Institute - New Hanover (Radiation Oncology).