Cape Town - There is new hope for cancer patients with tiny, hard-to-treat tumours – Cape Town now has an X-ray machine that uses high-precision energy to target small tumours without damaging surrounding tissue.
The multimillion-rand Novalis TX radio-oncology equipment means Vincent Pallotti cancer patients will see their radiotherapy taking half as long as before.
The machine can also be used to treat other non-cancerous problems in the ear, nose, throat and face.
Launched by Health MEC Theuns Botha on Thursday, the eight-ton technology is the first of its kind in South Africa.
Fitted with a cone-beam CT scanner, 6D robotic couch and sophisticated imaging devices to help trace tumours, the machine uses precise high energy to destroy even the smallest tumours.
Oncologist Dr Jacqueline Hall said while conventional radiation machines risked damaging surrounding healthy tissue during treatment, the new machine produced low X-rays when going through the tissue.
The beams released the required high energy only when they simultaneously reached the cancerous cells.
“Its precision makes the treatment of lung and liver lesions much easier, as these tend to move around when a patient breathes.
“There is no machine that monitors tumours the way this unit does.
“When these tumours move from the targeted area during treatment the radiation stops automatically and directs the energy again when a tumour comes back.”
Its accuracy also meant it could be used on complicated cancers, including cranial and spinal cancers.
The machine reduces radio-surgery sessions significantly, with treatments that previously took an hour now taking 30 minutes or less.
Neurosurgeon Dr Freddie Kieck said the new technology would not only allow frameless radiosurgery – as framing was associated with discomfort and pain – but it would act as an “adjunct” to the treatment of big tumours that could not be entirely removed by surgery.
“Because big tumours often run through nerves, when you operate to the root you run the risk of damaging the nerves and this can lead to paralysis. So we often leave the residue and destroy the cancer through radiosurgery.
“This technology will allow us to deliver as much energy to these residues without necessarily damaging the normal cells.”
Kieck said the machine would also make radiosurgery easy to perform on tumours with unusual shapes, thanks to the adaptation of its energy beams. - Cape Argus