How TrueBeam LINAC can Help Treat Breast Cancer Faster, Smarter & with Precision

By Dr. Sumant Gupta in Cancer Truebeam Linac

Nov 19, 2022

How TrueBeam LINAC can Help Treat Breast Cancer Faster, Smarter & with Precision

A breast cancer diagnosis is an overwhelming & stressful experience for all women. Women and their families may not know what to expect from the disease and how exhaustive the treatment is going to be. What’s more disturbing is the anticipation of the outcome of the treatment. 

Given the high number of annual breast cancer diagnoses among women, ongoing research aims to develop effective treatments with minimal side effects or health risks.

Breast Cancer treatment can have high success rates when the cancer is detected in its early stage. However, if cancer has reached its advantage stage, things start to get riskier and trickier. Advanced metastatic cancer can spread to distant parts of the body such as the lungs, bones, and lymph nodes. Treatment typically involves a combination of surgeries followed by supportive therapies like chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or radiation therapy.

Another challenge arises when a cancerous mass is located in an inoperable or hard-to-reach area, complicating surgical or radiation treatments. This is where Varian TrueBeam LINAC, with its advanced technology, proves highly effective.

TrueBeam LINAC

TrueBeam LINAC is an advanced technology designed to target challenging cancer sites such as the breast, brain, pancreas, and lungs. These cancers are often difficult to treat due to their location or continuous movement. Unlike traditional methods, TrueBeam LINAC enables precise radiation delivery, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue while effectively shrinking tumors.

This is where TrueBeam LINAC technology helps doctors with precise radiation treatment. It is a linear accelerator and radiation treatment device developed by Varian Medical Systems. It was developed with the intent of treating cancer anywhere in the body, including the breasts. The device is known for its accuracy, precision, and speed in providing radiation.

The Advanced Technology of TrueBeam

The TrueBeam LINAC system features cutting-edge technology that is highly advantageous in treating advanced breast cancer. Key characteristics of the TrueBeam include:

• It can exactly pinpoint the location of difficult-to-access tumours.
• It works accurately on tumours and cancers that are constantly moving. TrueBeam uses the latest technology that realigns radiation beams every 10 seconds based on the tumour’s position. 
• It integrates imaging tools like CBCT imaging, including 4D CBCT, gated CBCT imaging, short ARC CBCT, extended-length CBCT, and multi-scan CBCT, all in one single device.
• The device combines various technologies to provide images as well as radiation through one device.
• It allows doctors to get the real-time position of cancer while administering radiation doses.

Why TrueBeam for Breast Cancer?

Less Suffering For the Patient: TrueBeam can administer the exact doses of radiation in 75% less time than other devices. Patients can get the entire radiation dose in less than 2 minutes as compared to 10-30 minutes with other devices. Since TrueBeam is highly accurate and precise, surrounding healthy tissue does not get damaged as opposed to other forms of radiation therapy. This also calls for fewer side effects when compared to other radiation treatments. Patients will get treated & then recover faster with TrueBeam radiation therapy.

The Entire Process is Condensed:  Cancer treatment typically involves multiple steps like imaging, planning, and treatment. TrueBeam consolidates these steps into a single device, enabling doctors to swiftly pinpoint the precise location and progression of cancer.Doctors can then also use this device to plan the exact dosage of radiation based on advanced 3D images. The device can then be used to administer finely precise radiation dosages to exact positions using real-time imagery.

Highly Accurate, Precise and Faster Treatment: The major reason for employing the TrueBeam is its highly accurate imaging. This is because it uses advanced technology to assess & mark the location with submillimeter accuracy. The radiation can also be provided through all angles. So whether the cancer is in a difficult spot or is moving due to respiratory motion or other factors, TrueBeam will provide the radiation specifically without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.

Concluding Thoughts

TrueBeam Linear Accelerator (LINAC) has already become a revolutionary model in cancer treatment. It reduces time, recovery period, and difficulty and increases the accuracy of treatment. It is a radiotherapy system that is designed while keeping the patient’s needs in mind. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with cancer, consider discussing with your oncologist the potential benefits of incorporating TrueBeam into your treatment alongside other supportive therapies.