Margaret Combs
508-839-7910
margaret.combs@tufts.edu

Tufts Launches New Cancer
Treatment Research
University Installs Million-Dollar Diagnostic Radiation Treatment System at Veterinary School

No. Grafton, Mass. - No. Grafton, Mass. - Veterinarians at Tufts University announced today a five-year research project aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of cancer radiation therapy for both animals and humans. Funded by Photogen Technologies, Inc., the project involves a $1.4 million cancer diagnostic and treatment "suite" installed for the first time at any veterinary school in the nation.

   "I call this one of the intervention rooms of the future, only five or six of which are available in the United States," said Dr. Gerald Wolf, Ph.D., M.D., medical director at Photogen as well as research professor at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Wolf is co- principal investigator in the research project with Dr. David Ruslander, assistant professor of oncology in the Harrington Oncology Program of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine.

   The multi-faceted study, which aims to improve cancer therapy for animals and ultimately for people, will test a variety of radiosensitive compounds, such as Photogen's PH-10, for their ability to increase the absorption of radiation into cancerous tissue.

   "If found to be effective, these compounds could enable doctors in the future to lower the doses of radiation needed to kill tumors," said Dr. Ruslander, "This will mean less toxicity to surrounding healthy tissue and potentially fewer side effects from the radiation."

   The new diagnostic technology, known as the Picker "Venue Suite," will benefit both researchers and Tufts animal patients. Comprised of three networked parts, the system speeds up imaging and improves diagnostic accuracy:

• The spiral CT scanner yields high resolution 3-D images of all parts of the animal's body in 30 seconds, a procedure which formerly took half an hour.
• A computer planning system called PinPoint enables veterinary oncologists to calculate the proper angle, trajectory and depth of the biopsy needle before insertion, optimizing accurate results and diagnosis.
• A digital fluoroscopic "C-arm" allows the veterinarian to observe the biopsy needle in "real time" as it goes in, maximizing the safety of surrounding organs.

    Diagnostic procedures, which formerly required Tufts' veterinarians one to two hours to complete, have been cut by 50 percent with the new system. "This technology allows us to complete the necessary imaging and biopsy procedure in one episode of care," explains Dr Antony Moore, head of the school's Harrington Oncology Program, one of the leading cancer treatment programs for animals in the country. "This is much better for our patients since they spend less time under anesthesia."

   In addition to the diagnostic "suite," Tufts has received a new computer radiation treatment planning system from Photogen. The new software will enable both the researchers and Tufts veterinarians to more precisely plan doses of radiation and calculate optimal angles of radiation delivery. Photogen Technologies (Nasdaq, PHGN), develops non-invasive and minimally invasive therapeutic and diagnostic technologies.

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Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine is New England's only veterinary school.  It has the largest residency-training program in veterinary emergency and critical care in the United States. The school's Center for Animals and Public Policy offers the country's only graduate degree in the field of human/animal relationships and related public policies.  It has a number of signature programs including wildlife medicine and international veterinary medicine.