Swedish Cancer Institute Uses GPS to Assist with Precision-Guided Prostate Cancer Treatments

Swedish Cancer Institute of Seattle, Washington on January 30th announced it is the first cancer-care program in the world to provide prostate cancer patients commercial access to the Calypso(R) 4D Localization System for precision-guided radiation therapy delivery to the prostate with continuous, objective, organ-motion tracking accuracy.

Radiation therapy is used to treat about one million cancer patients in the United States each year and is very effective in destroying cancer cells. However, in prostate cancer treatment the most common side effects arise when the radiation beam misses the prostate but irradiates adjacent healthy organs causing complications like impotence, urinary incontinence and rectal bleeding. Therefore, doctors must guard against damaging healthy tissues that surround the tumor caused by misalignment and unpredictable tumor motion.

The Calypso(R) 4D Localization System GPS system is now enabling Swedish Cancer Institute physicians the ability to pinpoint a prostate tumor's location with greater accuracy and continuously monitor its position in a real-time fashion during radiation treatment. This technology, which has FDA 510(k) clearance, uses tiny electromagnetic sensors, called Beacon(R) transponders, that are each about the size of a small grain of rice. Transponders are implanted in the prostate prior to treatment. Subsequently, the Calypso System continuously monitors the position and motion of the organ by tracking transponder positions during therapy delivery and alerts clinicians when the prostate is not properly aligned with the radiation beam.

"Patients are well educated in prostate cancer treatment options and seek the best treatment approach possible. We expect the Calypso(R) 4D Localization System to factor into the patient's decision when selecting Swedish for their radiation treatment. In fact, almost half of the initial patients ... have traveled more than 100 miles from their home to receive treatment at the Swedish Cancer Institute," said John Sylvester, M.D., radiation oncologist with the Seattle Prostate Institute at Swedish Medical Center.

"Over the last several years early product concepts were evaluated by Swedish Cancer Institute staff and contributed to the product design and operation," said Eric R. Meier, Calypso Medical president and CEO. "As a result, Calypso Medical was able to develop a very robust application, designed to improve the accuracy, efficiency and, for the first time, enable continuous, real-time tumor tracking. We believe this will pave the way for expanded treatment delivery options in radiation therapy and enable clinicians to better manage organ motion during therapy. By partnering with clinical experts at the Swedish Cancer Institute, we expect to see unprecedented advancements in radiation therapy management and expanded treatment delivery options."

SOURCE Swedish Cancer Institute