Málaga Regional University Hospital has put a new high-performance linear accelerator into operation to treat cancer patients using advanced radiotherapy and radiosurgery. The equipment is installed in Pavilion A of the hospital’s general building and is intended to improve access to complex treatments and provide more precise, safe and faster therapies.
The accelerator cost €2,649,900, funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility as part of the National Health System’s INVEAT investment plan for high-technology equipment. A further €130,000 was spent adapting the space.
The system supports techniques including cranial and body radiosurgery, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, arc therapy and image-guided radiotherapy. These methods can deliver higher doses with greater precision and, in many cases, reduce the number of sessions required. For some conditions, including certain prostate and lung tumours, treatment may be completed over a few days rather than several weeks, reducing hospital visits for patients.
The equipment also includes tools for treating very small intracranial lesions with radiosurgery, and surface-guided radiotherapy to improve the accuracy of patient positioning. In many cases, this system avoids the need for permanent reference tattoos on the skin, an alternative particularly valued by breast cancer patients requiring radiotherapy.
The hospital estimates that around 550 patients will be treated with the equipment each year, with close to 100 potentially benefiting from highly precise radiosurgery. The accelerator is also expected to help reduce waiting times and expand access to complex techniques that had been limited by the capacity of existing equipment.
Hospital managing director José Antonio Ortega said the accelerator would allow the hospital to provide more precise treatments, shorten treatment times and help many patients complete treatment in fewer sessions. Jorge Contreras, head of the Radiation Oncology Service, said the technology expands treatment options and enables tumours to be treated with millimetre-level precision while better protecting healthy tissue. He added that high-precision radiosurgery offers new options for patients with small lesions or lesions in complex locations.
The hospital has also developed a new departmental radiotherapy network and an advanced treatment-planning system to improve workflow and make full use of the accelerator’s capabilities.