State-of-the-art treatment network to give British Columbia patients access to the world's most advanced cancer treatments, including IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy)

VANCOUVER - The BC Cancer Agency announced it has recently ordered a comprehensive radiation therapy and imaging system from Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR) to provide patients from across the province with the most advanced care in the world. The agency is in the process of establishing and upgrading an integrated network of equipment and software in four centers, including a new facility in Victoria. The new radiation therapy system ordered in March will begin treating patients early in 2001.

"This is an exciting time for the agency as we strengthen our treatment capabilities for patients," said Dr. Tom Keane, head of the Provincial Radiation Therapy Program for the BC Cancer Agency. "This significant investment by the Ministry of Health in equipment and software from Varian Medical Systems when fully operational in early 2001 will eliminate our waiting lists on Vancouver Island. It will enable our clinical staff to offer patients from across British Columbia as well as Canada and the U.S. the world's most advanced cancer treatment, including IMRT. We expect to treat more patients and to offer all of them the highest standards of care. We are hopeful that this will lead to improved cure rates in the fight against cancer."

"The BC Cancer Agency is showing a clear commitment to offering patients worldclass care and we are honored to be part of this effort," said Timothy Guertin, president of Varian Medical Systems' oncology business. "This agency is taking its place among the world leaders in cancer care. We are particularly impressed with the agency's information systems that use a fiber-optic network and our licensed software to give all of its clinics instant access to patient records as well as the newest and most sophisticated planning systems for advanced treatments including IMRT."

New equipment will be installed in the new $45 million facility for Vancouver Island Cancer Centre in Victoria and the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre in Surrey. New software will be provided for all four centers, including the Cancer Centre for the Southern Interior in Kelowna and the Vancouver Cancer Centre, through a shared fiberoptic network. The agency treats more than 12,000 patients across the province each year, including 10,000 who receive radiation therapy.

The BC Cancer Agency is installing seven new Clinac® linear accelerators from Varian Medical Systems, including of the most advanced Clinac EX machines, for delivering radiotherapy. Six of the new Clinacs will be installed at the new facility in Victoria and a seventh Clinac will be installed at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre in Surrey.

IMRT, 3D Conformal Therapy

The order includes seven Varian dynamic multi-leaf collimators (DMLCs) - two 120-leaf collimators and five 80-leaf collimators -- for the centres in Victoria and Surrey. These multi-leaf collimators make it possible for doctors to treat patients with 3-D conformal therapy and IMRT in which the radiation beams are shaped to match the contour of the tumor and to modulate dose intensity. This computer-controlled beam targeting capability will enable doctors to deliver higher radiation doses to cancerous tumors with minimal exposure and complications in surrounding tissue. Early studies are showing that this treatment technique has the potential to substantially improve cancer cure rates for patients.

"We will be capable of delivering IMRT on all of the new machines we are installing in Victoria," said Rhonda Coleman, regional radiation therapy process leader for the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre. "Patients will no longer have to leave Vancouver Island to get advanced treatment. In fact we expect some patients to come from outside the province to our centre for treatment."

The comprehensive system also includes Varian's leading-edge PortalVision™ electronic amorphous silicon (a-Si) imaging systems on each Clinac linear accelerator. These will give doctors and radiation therapists unprecedented ability to instantly review and evaluate treatments in order to ensure that the radiation beams are targeted correctly at patient tumors. The agency is installing a new Ximatron® simulator from Varian in Victoria to develop, simulate and refine patient treatment plans.

GE Imaging Equipment

In addition to ordering radiotherapy systems, the agency ordered a General Electric CT scanner and C-arm for generating the high-resolution diagnostic images needed for planning and delivering precision treatments. "Varian's partnership with GE Medical Systems made it possible for us to include worldclass imaging equipment in our new facility," said Ms. Coleman. "We will have a complete system for seeing and treating cancer."

Software

The BC Cancer Agency has invested in Varian's software tools, including Helios® and CadPlan Plus® software for rapid generation of sophisticated treatment plans and Vision Network® software for converting two-dimensional diagnostic images into 3D images used to develop treatment plans. The agency will integrate Varian's VARiS® software for radiation treatment and planning and image management with its existing patient information and administrative systems.. All agency clinics and offices will utilize this new integrated information system over a shared fiber-optic network that has its hub in Vancouver.

The agency is also significantly enhancing its brachytherapy system that uses catheters or needles rather than an external beam to deliver radiation. It has purchased a Varian new VariSource™ afterloader and BrachyVision® software for treatment planning and delivering high dose rate brachytherapy. The order also includes Varian's VariSeed™ treatment planning software for low dose rate brachytherapy or seed placement in prostate cancer cases. The new brachytherapy system will be installed in Victoria.

"By working with Varian, we have created a seamlessly integrated system capable of treating patients with all types of radiotherapy," said Ms. Coleman. "We will avoid the connectivity issues and the compatibility problems that can arise when using software and equipment from multiple vendors. And we have made it very easy to upgrade our system with Varian's next generation of equipment and software."

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (NYSE:VAR) of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy systems which are treating thousands of patients per day. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 2,300 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe and in its 40 sales and support offices around the world. In its most recent fiscal year ended October 1, 1999, Varian Medical Systems reported sales of $590 million. Additional information is available on the company's web site at www.varian.com

Contact: Spencer Sias, Varian Medical Systems (650) 424-5782 -- spencer.sias@varian.com