MANILA, PHILIPPINES — In a promising development for cancer patients in Pangasinan and the rest of Northern and Central Luzon, the Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital (DDVMH) – a partner hospital of Mount Grace Hospitals, Inc. – brings new technology in treating cancer patients using the VitalBeam™ radiotherapy system from Varian Medical Systems (a Siemens Healthineers company) bringing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) capabilities in the province.
VitalBeam delivers powerful cancer treatments with pinpoint accuracy and precision. It uniquely integrates imaging and treatment technologies within a sophisticated architecture that makes it possible to deliver intensity-modulated radiotherapy safely and efficiently, opening the door to new possibilities for the treatment of head and neck, central nervous system, lung, gastric, urinary bladder, prostate, as well as other cancers that are treatable with radiotherapy.
“VitalBeam is a real game-changer that will enable us to treat even challenging cases with pinpoint accuracy and precision, making it possible for us to offer fast, targeted treatments,” said Dr. Francis Ramirez, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology of Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital. “We cannot let the pandemic divert our attention away from cancer care. Because cancer can be beaten if detected early and addressed with the proper treatment.”
According to the Philippine Cancer Control Program, cancer is the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the country after diseases of the heart and the vascular system. [1] In 2020, Globocan recorded 153,751 new cases of cancer in the Philippines with a total of 92,606 in death. Breast cancer remains to be most common cancer followed by lung, colorectum, liver, and prostate for both males and females [2].
“As one company, Siemens Healthineers and Varian ceaselessly support and enable healthcare providers like Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital to increase value as we take a leap together in the fight against cancer and a leap in the impact on healthcare overall. While communicable diseases continue to pose a threat, chronic and non-communicable diseases are also on the rise [3] with cancer being one of them. Even with restrictive movements due to the pandemic, we were able to work together with the team of medical experts from DDVMH to ensure that the battle against the Big C never stops,“ said Juan Miguel P. Tan, President and Managing Director of Siemens Healthineers Philippines.
A VitalBeam system can deliver treatment doses with tremendous precision. Its accuracy is made possible by a sophisticated architecture that synchronizes imaging, patient positioning, beam shaping, and dose delivery, performing accuracy checks every ten milliseconds throughout a treatment.
VitalBeam can be used for radiotherapy treatments including conventional (2-D), conformal (3-D), and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The VitalBeam also has a modular design which makes it upgrade-ready, enabling image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with RapidArc®, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) capabilities in the future.
“As we celebrate World Cancer Day, the new Vitalbeam, which is capable of IMRT and with the advance cure for cancer, is an added value to our services in holistic cancer treatment through the aspect of MDT approach for quality cancer care for all,” added Dr. Vivencio Jose P. Villaflor III, Hospital and Medical Director of DDVMH.
1 https://doh.gov.ph/philippine-cancer-control-program
2 Globocan 2020 Cancer Fact Sheet for the Philippines
3 https://www.harvardbusinessmanager.de/studien/d-130409268.html (24.06.2020)
