Varian’s Mission of Hope
Transforming Cancer Care in Asia
Combining the power of imaging with the power of radiotherapy is key to treating the growing burden of cancer. Innovation in oncology can make healthcare more personalized, precise, predictable, and productive. However, as new innovations become available, countries in Asia are playing catch-up. Market readiness remains the most significant challenge for this revolution in cancer care, meaning companies must help their customers and governments prepare for new technologies.
You joined Varian APJ from Siemens Healthineers in Japan. What has stood out the most about Varian since your move?
Even before moving I could see how dedicated and passionate everyone was from Varian. Siemens Healthineers had a strategic partnership with Varian in Japan for over ten years. So, I saw firsthand how we share the same goals for innovation and bringing advanced healthcare to patients. Varian’s superpower comes from its people and the passion they have for helping to create a world without fear of cancer.
Varian sees a future where cancer can become a manageable chronic disease, like diabetes. This vision unites all of us across Varian and Siemens Healthineers. Strong progress is being made, but we are only just starting to scratch the surface of what’s possible. There are opportunities for us to build on our strong foundations in imaging and radiotherapy – namely through greater integration across the cancer patient pathway.
Together we have an expansive view of the patient's journey, so we can assess the barriers and silos that prevent patients having a seamless experience. There is a huge opportunity to drive the integration of imaging and therapeutics – but we also have the scale to innovate and do much more than any individual cancer care med-tech company in the world.
Fundamentally it’s the passion, empathy, and understanding of the patient experience that is at the core of everything we do. It fuels our pursuit to innovate and to bring the highest quality treatment to those who need it.
How is Varian and Siemens Healthineers transforming cancer care in Asia?
We understand that Asia accounts for half of global cancer incidences, and by 2050 the WHO estimates cases could rise over 75%. Meeting this burden will require all of us to collaborate and help tackle the universal challenges cancer care teams face – rising costs, limited resources, shortage of trained staff, and a complex care journey.
Treating cancer requires accurate diagnostics, predictive simulations, and multiple clinical disciplines. There are many stages in this journey where the transfer of data can break down, and this lack of connectivity can lead to disruptions in treatment planning and delivery.
For example, a cancer patient in a low-income country, living in a rural area, may be referred to multiple specialists, potentially over many days. They may have to physically carry their health data to each one. It is unlikely information flows seamlessly between the specialists and there is no personalized treatment plan to speak of. The patient is effectively a bystander intheir treatment, constantly asking for directions. This translates to uncertainty and delay for them, whilst also being a drain on the healthcare system.
Half of cancer patients have an experience like this. Given our comprehensive view of the patient journey, it is our responsibility to help solve these issues and put patients at the center of their care.
Our goal is that once a patient is in the system, subsequent diagnostics, imaging, and decision support can be integrated. This then provides critical insights for a multi-disciplinary team to decide the best treatment plan. All the relevant clinical information would be captured, providing a complete picture of the patient throughout the journey.
What are the challenges that a medical device company like yours might face?
Encouraging adoption is one of the largest challenges to any medical device company. Our role is to build a greater awareness of the value of new technologies, such as how they offer more precise imaging and treatment techniques – including AI-powered software. But this requires a regulatory environment that incentivizes adoption of new technologies.
Public reimbursement, for example, has the power to incentivize new treatment techniques which can have a significant impact on access to cancer care. Hypofractionation is a form of radiation treatment where the radiation dose (a fraction) is larger than typical doses. Treatments are given once a day or less. Adopting hypofractionated treatment in low-to-middle income countries alone is estimated to improve access to radiotherapy in Asia from 62% to 78%. However, pay-per-fraction models of reimbursement, which exist in most markets, disincentivize this course of treatment.
Patient awareness is also a barrier to adoption. All too often, the care that a patient receives is determined by their first point of interaction with the health system. If patients first see a surgeon, they will receive surgery first; if they see radiation oncologist, the chance is higher that they will receive radiation therapy. Education, awareness, and updated clinical guidance will overcome some of the underutilization of radiotherapy that we see.
It is important for all of us to convene and build a sustainable healthcare system that can adopt treatment advances quickly. The burden of proof is ultimately on us to demonstrate the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of our reatments. That is why Varian invests significantly in clinical research. Our role is to provide regulators with real-world evidence to paint a realistic picture of how this is helping patient care.
Can you describe how this transformation in cancer care could impact hospitals, care givers and patients?
We want to move away from fragmented care to a more integrated, multidisciplinary care, centered around the patient. This will ensure cancer patients have a seamless, personalized experience and help reduce some of the fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
To help clinicians focus more on the patient, our technologies must integrate data analytics and AI to help improve clinical processes and workflows, making the connection between imaging and treatment shorter and more efficient.
Inside the treatment room, AI can be used to alter radiotherapy treatments in real-time. Data from imaging techniques used to capture complex, high-quality images of a tumor can help physicians adapt their treatment in response to anatomical changes. This allows clinicians to safely deliver higher doses of radiation while avoiding most healthy cells, potentially leading to less time in the hospital for the patient.
This is just one example, but it will all require enhancing the clinical workforce with digital skills. Medical schools need digital components in their curriculum. Meanwhile, additional training is needed to upskill the existing workforce.
Continuous medical education programs can develop highly trained technical personnel and specialized clinicians. Varian can help customers become clinical schools for these more advanced techniques and offers additional training programs to empower workforces and ensure the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system.
What does the future hold for cancer patients in Asia?
There is a huge opportunity to transform cancer care in Asia. Almost half of patients currently have no access to even basic forms of radiotherapy. For those who do have access, there can be variations in the quality of care available.
Where you live shouldn’t affect if you live. Advancing cancer care for us means democratizing access to treatment across Asia – a patient in a rural part of Assam, India, should be able to receive the same standard of treatment as a patient in New York.
The future we want to create will make it easier for all the specialists involved in cancer care work together – the doctors, nurses, radiologists, medical oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologists. Having a better coordinated, better informed, and better-managed journey will ensure caregivers can personalize care at every stage for the patient.
To do this, we must bring comprehensive technologies that can be used by numerous disciplines across different types of markets, raising standards of care wherever we operate. This requires manufacturers, providers, and governments working together. Collectively, we can help build a world where a cancer diagnosis no longer holds the fear that it does today.
