Accuray Expands Treatment Options for Patients in Finland
CyberKnife Radiosurgery Provides Patients an Effective, Non-Invasive and Convenient Treatment Option
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 2, 2012 – Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), the premier radiation oncology company, announced today that Kuopio University Hospital in Kuopio, Finland has begun treating patients with the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System, providing Finland and the Nordic countries with the most advanced option in radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). The CyberKnife System allows Kuopio University to offer patients a non-invasive, personalized option for treatment of tumors throughout the body, including brain, spine, lung, prostate, liver, pancreas and breast tumors, enabling the hospital to offer treatments to a new group of patients.
“When looking for ways to expand our radiation oncology offerings, we looked for technology capable of effectively treating tumors anywhere in the body while sparing normal tissue, critical structures and preserving quality of life for patients,” said Jan-Erik Palmgren, medical physicist and CyberKnife project lead at Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital. “We found that the CyberKnife System allows us to offer an effective alternative to surgery for patients seeking a non-surgical option or for those who may be poor surgical candidates. We can now offer a new treatment option for many patients with advanced stage and recurrent cancers who are left with few or no options. The CyberKnife System’s ability to automatically track and correct for tumor motion throughout the body ensures these patients will have the best opportunity for a superior outcome.”
Kuopio University’s hospital strives to provide access to a large, widespread population that can require patients to travel several hours for treatment. Therefore it is essential that Kuopio University can now provide treatment options that are both effective and convenient. For some cancers, such as prostate, lung, spine and liver cancer, CyberKnife SBRT, delivered over a single week, has been shown to be equally or more effective when compared to six to eight weeks of conventional radiation therapy treatment. This added convenience translates into increased treatment access and compliance for patients who prior to the availability of the CyberKnife System may not have attempted or completed their treatment due to the burden of weeks of travel.
“We are pleased to extend the benefits of CyberKnife radiosurgery and SBRT to patients in Finland and the surrounding region,” said Euan S. Thomson, Ph.D., president and CEO of Accuray. “Through continued clinically driven innovation that is focused on patients, we look forward to further expanding treatment options for leading centers like Kuopio University Hospital and improving access to treatment solutions that will improve patient outcomes and care.
About Accuray
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the premier radiation oncology company that develops, manufactures and sells personalized, innovative treatment solutions that set the standard of care with the aim of helping patients live longer, better lives. The Company’s leading-edge technologies – the CyberKnife and TomoTherapy Systems – are designed to deliver radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, and adaptive radiation therapy. To date, more than 300,000 patients worldwide have been treated using the company’s technologies and 616 systems have been installed in leading hospitals around the world. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate, but are not limited, to expanding and improving access to the Company’s treatment solutions. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including risks detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company’s report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2011, and its reports on Form 10-Q for the first and second quarters of fiscal 2012.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to the Company at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.