The Newest And Most Precise Form Of Radiation Treatment
VMAT is the most advanced form of IMRT and IGRT. There have been several recent major technological advances allowing SUCCESS RATES that typically exceed those of surgery and proton beam therapy, with far fewer side effects. Unlike seed implantation, which is an invasive procedure and requires anesthesia to be administered in the hospital, VMAT is entirely non-invasive and done as an outpatient in our modern office.
Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) is the newest and most precise form of radiation therapy available. This state-of-the-art technology allows our team to deliver more tightly focused radiation treatments to your cancer than ever before. Our VMAT technology also greatly reduces treatment time from the typical 20-30 minutes seen with proton beam therapy or conventional radiation treatment, to only 1-2 minutes. In VMAT, as the linear accelerator rotates around you, radiation beams sweep in continuous uninterrupted arcs, tightly pin-pointed on the cancer. 3-dimensional CT imaging technology is incorporated into our actual treatment machine. This aids in the precision of the radiation, giving the doctor the ability to see the tumor at the time of treatment. This new technology allows the radiation oncologist more control to deliver a carefully targeted dose, so that only the tumor receives a high dose of radiation, not the surrounding healthy organs.
Our VMAT technique combines volumetric modulated arc therapy with both the latest advances in both intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). With IMRT, sophisticated computers modulate the intensity of the radiation beam, increasing it to areas where cancer cells are, and decreasing it to areas that need to be protected. This allows for maximum radiation to be delivered to the prostate and areas potentially harboring cancer cells while minimizing radiation to the surrounding bladder and rectum. Patients with more intermediate to advanced-stage prostate cancer have a high risk of having cancer outside the prostate, beyond a surgeon’s reach.
VMAT is particularly useful for radiation therapy involving tumours near sensitive body organs. It can be an effective treatment for many types of cancer.
VMAT planning and treatment is demanding and requires precision. The VMAT procedure takes around 20 minutes (less than half an hour). This is much like a three-dimensional conformal treatment. We spend most of this time getting your position right. We take x-rays each day to check that everything is lining up as planned and we can then give treatment. VMAT uses the same type of radiation as other radiotherapy treatments.
Four of our radiation therapy sites offer the VMAT treatment. These sites are:
Melbourne
Bendigo
Box Hill
Moorabbin
The team of specialists who plan and deliver VMAT include:
radiation oncologists
radiation therapists
medical physicists.
A range of other professionals will also support you including:
nurses
allied health practitioners.
Our radiation therapy team is proud to offer this treatment. We continue to develop and progress treatment options for the people of Victoria.
Please speak with your doctor to find out if VMAT is the best treatment choice for you.