When it comes to radiation treatment for cancer, it’s hard to beat care that delivers faster treatment times and fewer side effects.
This August, Novant Health became the first health system in the nation to use an advanced form of radiation therapy that does just that. The therapy is called RapidArc Dynamic, and the first patient was treated with it on Aug. 25. It can reduce how long a treatment will take. This supports the physical and emotional well-being of patients throughout their treatment.
This is why the radiation oncology team at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center worked so hard to bring RapidArc Dynamic (RAD) to Novant Health. “It’s better treatment,” said Lalith Kumaraswamy, Ph.D. He is the director of physics at Novant Health Cancer Institute. “Less toxicity, fewer side effects, and a faster path through care.” He discussed the following questions below, and other team members also provided their insight.
Personalized cancer care in Winston-Salem.
Give us a quick explainer: What is RapidArc Dynamic?
RapidArc Dynamic is the newest radiation technology available. Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high-energy rays (usually X-rays) to destroy cancer cells. RapidArc Dynamic can not only deliver higher doses of radiation to tumors, but also more precisely targets tumors than does conventional radiation therapy.
This lowers the risk of affecting healthy areas of the body around the tumor greatly. It can also adjust the amount of radiation during treatment as appropriate.
The word “precision” comes up a lot in talking about RapidArc Dynamic. What does precision radiation treatment mean for patients?
Precision treatments allow the cancer care team to target the tumor with higher doses of radiation than were possible with older technologies. That’s because we’re able to so precisely target the tumor with less danger of impacting healthy areas.
The new capabilities we’re seeing with RapidArc Dynamic specifically reduce time per treatment, since we’re able to more effectively target the tumor.
They also reduce the number of treatments needed overall. Since we can direct the radiation to the tumor and only the tumor – and adjust the dose as needed – we’re able to use a higher dose in every treatment. This typically leads to fewer overall treatments.
RapidArc Dynamic differs from proton radiation, another form of precision therapy. Proton radiation uses protons delivered by beam transport whereas RapidArc Dynamic uses high-energy photons delivered by a linear accelerator.
Who can benefit from this treatment?
Anyone with a tumor that is eligible for radiation treatment can benefit. Tumor types we treat include breast, lung, head and neck, prostate and gastrointestinal.
In what cases would a patient not be eligible for RapidArc Dynamic?
If your cancer has spread, you are not going to be a candidate for RapidArc Dynamic. When cancer has metastasized, we use treatments that target the whole body, like chemotherapy.
How is RapidArc Dynamic different from previous technology?
RapidArc Dynamic creates more precise treatment plans and can pause during treatment to adjust dosing. This helps target the cancer more effectively.
Dr. Andrew Fairchild, radiation oncologist: In difficult cases where a second round of radiation treatment is needed, it’s helped reduce the amount of radiation to nearby organs, potentially reducing the side effects.
It also helps reduce treatment time, which increases patient comfort.
Kim Church, supervising dosimetrist: I was excited to see that RAD was able to dramatically improve the low dose to the normal lungs while still giving enough dose to appropriately treat the lung cancer. The lung doses have been decreased on several patients. This should help with potential short- and long-term side effects. I was also able to use it for a prostate treatment on a patient with a metal hip prosthesis, which can be tricky. RAD helped improve the plan quality.
Cody Lackey, dosimetrist: RAD gives us greater flexibility during the planning process, allowing us to optimize more effectively across multiple body sites.
Dr. Kumaraswamy, why is it important that Novant Health is the first in the nation to offer this technology?
Being the first means local patients have access to groundbreaking cancer care before anyone else in the country. However, the Novant Health system serves both North and South Carolina. We hope that this technology will benefit people from people across both states and beyond.
While traveling for cancer care can be emotionally and physically taxing, the newer treatment techniques such as RapidArc Dynamic provide patients who need to travel with a shorter treatment window. Ideally, this will make cancer care less draining – especially when coupled with fewer side effects and short treatments.
What should patients know about the team of experts behind their care?
There are several people responsible for administering radiation treatments, including RapidArc Dynamic treatments. These include:
- A dosimetrist: This is the person that plans your treatments as directed by the radiation oncologist.
- The medical physicists: This team is responsible for the technology itself. We make sure it functions and delivers radiation therapy properly.
- Healthcare clinicians: The team of healthcare professionals is responsible for you, as the patient. Together, you’re going to make treatment decisions and it’s up to them to ensure you’re undergoing the best course of treatment for your cancer journey.
- A radiation therapist: The radiation therapist is responsible for delivering treatment.
The team comes together to ensure that you receive the best possible treatment for the best possible outcome.
Where in the Novant Health network can people go to access this technology?
It is currently only available at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem but there are plans to expand to Novant Health Cancer Institute - New Hanover in the Coastal region.
All of the radiation oncologists at Forsyth Medical Center have access to this new treatment, so speak with your radiation oncologist to determine if you are a good candidate.
