Wrestling control from cancer’s multi-factorial grip will be hard, but Varian is forging ahead with diagnostics, genomics, artificial intelligence and an array of innovation to create a new wave of precision medicine.
Advances in radiotherapy techniques, pioneered by Varian, have created highly efficient systems that can target tumours and spare nearby tissue for vastly improved outcomes for patients.
Harnessing that high-tech success with the analytical power of data and potent therapies will be crucial to forging a fresh template for treatment for an ageing population with predicted rises in cancer incidence.
By 2025, the number of patients needing radiotherapy in the UK will have risen from 50 per cent to 60 per cent, yet funding for advanced radiotherapy is lagging behind demand, according to the Manifesto for Radiotherapy, backed by Varian and a cross-party group of MPs.
Varian’s commitment to technology has helped develop radiotherapy so precise and with minimal side effects that patients can continue working during treatment, yet only 5 per cent of the NHS budget is spent on radiotherapy.
As a global leader in developing and delivering integrated cancer care solutions, it believes more investment in the UK can improve access to high-quality radiotherapy and elevate cure rates across the NHS.
Varian, whose technology is in contact with around three million cancer patients a year, is maximising its vast experience in radiotherapy and imaging to create a potent force tackling the disease from a number of therapeutic directions.
By developing powerful therapeutics centred around radiotherapy, Varian has significantly improved successful treatment outcomes with more cancers treated earlier, and it believes that all elements of treatment need to be energised and integrated to achieve a world without fear of cancer.
“Our mission is to get rid of the fear of cancer by using whatever human capital, technology or data we can access,” says Pat Kupelian, the company’s clinical affairs vice president and professor of radiation oncology at UCLA in California.
“Varian is a dedicated cancer company. The entire company wakes up and thinks cancer and breathes cancer. There is no distraction.”
The company is uniquely positioned to offer a complete approach to cancer treatment as it has a generation of knowledge from pioneering the X-ray and radiotherapy procedures that now touch more than 50 per cent of cancer patients around the world.
“We are extending beyond core radiotherapy to major in software, artificial intelligence, imaging analytics, therapeutics, and to where we can detect tumour recurrence and predict responses.”
He believes significant technological and drug development over the next decade will lead to precision profiling of tumours, shorter radiotherapy programmes, empowerment of data and improved care delivery in lower-income countries.
Varian, which employs around 7,000 staff at sites in North America, Europe and Asia, is also expanding its expertise and influence with collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions to enhance its position as a global leader in multi-disciplinary cancer care solutions.
Its recent research document The Future of Cancer Care: Moving from Promise to Reality predicts a world in which the personal and economic burdens of cancer can be controlled.
“Cancer is still a very difficult disease to treat and we are not at the point of declaring victory, but you feel there has been a qualitative jump in the way cancer therapies are being applied,” Professor Kupelian concludes. “Varian is ideally placed to tackle cancer. Our capabilities are growing and we are looking at addressing needs across the globe. It is an exciting future.”
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