Cancer patients can get advanced radiation treatment in Taiwan rather than going abroad for it, the Chung Shan Medical University Hospital (中山醫學院附設醫院) in Taichung said yesterday.
The hospital introduced "intensity modulation radiotherapy" (IMRT) technology to the public yesterday. The launch came on the heels of official recognition of the treatment last week in the form of a 2001 National Biotechnology and Medical Care Award.
The award was given by the National Biotechnology and Medical Care Development Committee, of which the nation's president, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), is honorary president.
IMRT uses computers to improve radiation delivery and is considered one of the most significant advances in radiation oncology in decades. The system assesses millions of possible beam arrangements to design an optimized treatment plan.
Rather than delivering a single, large, uniform beam of radiation, as with the traditional treatment, IMRT breaks the radiation into many small beams that can vary in intensity.
By attacking the tumor with multiple beams of deadly radiation, a physician can deliver a relatively uniform dose of radiotherapy to affected areas while protecting healthy tissue nearby.
IMRT therefore allows the delivery of more cancer-killing radiation with fewer adverse side effects on healthy tissue and organs -- and even healthy tissue within organs.
The technique was developed in the US and first applied clinically in 1995.
"Our hospital introduced the technique to Taiwan, prepared training programs and began to plan Taiwan's first IMRT center three years ago," said James Li (李必忍), the hospital's director of radiation oncology. The center treated its first patient in August.
"Over 200 cancer sufferers [in Taiwan], with tumors in various parts of the body, have been successfully treated with IMRT," Li said. He said IMRT reduced the side effects of radiation treatment. "It's especially useful in treating neck and head cancers without the side effect of reducing a patient's saliva secretions due to the impairment of the tissue surrounding the tumor" -- a problem with older techniques.
IMRT is covered by the National Health Insurance Program, according to officials.
Li said the treatment is now available at several other hospitals, including the Chang Gung Memorial (長庚) and the Veterans General (榮總).
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