Elekta : First patient in Canada treated with Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Icon

Radiosurgery system enables unprecedented precision in the treatment of brain tumors

Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that its Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon™ stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) system has been used for the first time in Canada. Arjun Sahgal, MD, Deputy Chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, utilized Icon to treat a complex case of brain metastasis. The availability of a frameless immobilization option with Icon allowed this patient to be treated with SRS at Odette Cancer Centre despite a condition that precluded use of a head frame for immobilization.

'After years of planning and fundraising, we are excited to be the first hospital in Canada to have installed and treated our first patient with Icon. The system allows us to offer our patients highly precise treatment and a more comfortable experience,' said Dr. Sahgal. 'We're proud to offer our patients the one of the most advanced brain radiation unit in the world and now, with Icon we are able to treat a variety of indications including multiple metastases. It opens the door to a whole new world of treatment options.'

Leksell Gamma Knife is the leading SRS system designed specifically to target brain tissue. It has been the leading radiosurgery platform for more than 45 years, offering proven accuracy in both the location and radiation dose delivered to targeted brain tissue. Icon is the sixth generation of the Leksell Gamma Knife system, resulting from Elekta's extensive history in SRS technology and decades of collaboration with neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists around the world. Icon also provides the flexibility for single dose administration or multiple treatment sessions over time, which enables treatment of structures ranging from very small target sizes of a few millimeters to several centimeters, targets close to critical brain structures and new or recurring brain metastases.

Specific to Icon are the novel online Adaptive DoseControl™ and high-definition motion management technologies that ensure high accuracy for all treatments and an efficient workflow. Compared to other SRS platforms, Icon reduces delivery of radiation to normal brain tissue two to four times and lowers the extracranial dose by up to 130-fold. [i],[ii],[iii] Icon can be used in both frameless and fractionated treatment approaches, expanding physician options for patient-specific needs.

Health Canada issued a Medical Device License for Icon in January 2017. Dr. Sahgal and other clinicians at Odette Cancer Centre participated in the pre-approval validation of the Icon system. Dr. Sahgal and team also received a grant from the Canadian government to support research that may lead to improved treatments and outcomes for patients with multiple brain metastases and other brain disorders.

'Elekta is committed to advancing the safety and efficacy of radiation therapy and making SRS broadly available,' said Peter Gaccione, Executive Vice President for Region North America at Elekta. 'We congratulate Odette Cancer Centre on its continued leadership in radiation oncology and SRS and are pleased that patients in Canada now have access to the latest advance in SRS technology.'

For more information on how Gamma Knife Icon works, visit elekta.com/icon.

[i] Ma L, Nichol A, Hossain S, et al. Variable dose interplay effects across radiosurgical apparatus in treating multiple brain metastases. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2014;9(6):1079-86.

[ii] Lindquist C, Paddick I. The Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion and comparisons with its predecessors. Neurosurgery. 2007;61(3 Suppl):130-40.

[iii] Vlachopoulou V, Antypas C, Delis H, et al. Peripheral doses in patients undergoing Cyberknife treatment for intracranial lesions. A single centre experience. Radiat Oncol. 2011;6:157.

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