Icon Group joint venture offers more cancer treatment options

01/07/24

A new partnership between Icon Group and 5D Clinics will bring state-of-the-art cancer care to more people across the country.

Icon, Australia’s largest dedicated provider of cancer care, has teamed up with 5D Clinics – the country’s only private provider of radiosurgery treatment using the CyberKnife System – to open and operate a network of new centres, with an initial focus on the East Coast.

The first centre of the joint venture (JV) is due to open in Melbourne in 2025.

Icon CEO Mark Middleton said the partnership was another step forward in meeting the group’s mission to bring more care to more people.

“This milestone JV signifies a continued investment in the future of cancer care and increasing access to more Australians,” he said.

“Icon has a strong track record of delivering first-to-market technology and treatments, and our partnership with 5D Clinics will continue to see us lead the way in radiation therapy and the next phase of precision medicine.

“Together, we’re bringing highly advanced treatments to more people, closer to where they live.”

The technology is the only fully robotic radiation delivery system. Its robotic arm moves around a patient, delivering high-energy x-ray beams with a high level of accuracy and precision in a sequence of software-generated angles.

It uses real-time guided-motion synchronisation technology, which allows tracking of any tumour movement to adjust the position of the treatment beam. 

This reduces the amount of radiation delivered to healthy tissue without compromising the dose delivered, improving patient outcomes.

The technology is particularly helpful for patients with cancers located in the chest and abdomen, including lung, liver and pancreas, which are susceptible to respiratory motion.

Treatment is typically completed in one to five sessions that last around 30 to 60 minutes each. It is suitable for cancerous and non-cancerous conditions of the brain, spine, lung, prostate, liver, kidney, pancreas and metastatic disease.

5D Clinics radiation oncologist, Associate Professor Colin Tang, has been using the technology for more than 10 years in Western Australia. 

“CyberKnife is a clinically proven and non-invasive treatment with the capacity to help thousands of people living with cancer,” he said.

“We’re seeing promising results with a range of cancer types; patients are experiencing positive outcomes, often with little to no side-effects.”

A/Prof Tang, who is the JV’s Chief Medical Officer, said systems precise delivery meant it was an option for patients who had already received standard radiation therapy and would otherwise not be suitable for further treatments.

“This partnership with Icon will allow us to open more 5D Clinics across Australia’s eastern seaboard, easing the burden of travel and increasing access to this precision therapy for more people with cancer,” he added.