18:19 EST, 5 May 2014
|
19:00 EST, 5 May 2014
The high-speed Versa HD, it uses much higher doses of radiotherapy than conventional equipment
A
high-speed radiotherapy machine could slash the time it takes to treat
cancerous tumours.
Treatment that takes a quarter of an hour or more
could be over in just two minutes using the new technology.
Called
the Versa HD, it uses much higher doses of radiotherapy than
conventional equipment to blast malignant tissue – but is precisely
delivered to minimise damage to surrounding healthy cells.
The
high-speed treatment means patients have to keep still for much shorter
periods. This is of huge benefit because the slightest movement can
cause the radiotherapy beam to stray off target, killing healthy cells
rather than cancerous ones. For example, if a patient has a tumour on
the lung or abdomen, even coughing or breathing heavily during the
treatment can knock the beam off target.
Currently, radiotherapists have to allow for this by focusing on small areas of a tumour at a time.
At
the planning stage of treatment, doctors pinpoint where the cancer is
and what area to zap with radiation. But the simplest change, such as
whether the patient’s bladder is full or empty, can affect the ‘mapping’
of the tumour during radiotherapy.
If
too little of the rays hit the cancer cells, they may not be
destroyed. But too much can result in damaging side-effects, such as
painful internal ulcers.
Around
40 per cent of all cancer patients have radiotherapy. The new
technology could also mean much shorter waiting times for patients if
doctors can reduce the amount of time it takes to treat them.
The
Versa HD delivers more than three times the dose of a normal
radiotherapy machine but also has a more accurate delivery system.
In order to match the shape of the tumour, the beam is passed through sliding metal panels called leaves.
The
leaves can slide backwards or forwards so that the shape of the hole
they create for the beam to pass through matches that of the tumour.
Most machines have 40 to 60 leaves but the Versa HD has 160 – allowing more precise shaping.
The
treatment is available at the Leeds Cancer Centre at St James’s
University Hospital, and The Christie Hospital in Manchester. Julie
Owens, radiotherapist at The Leeds Cancer Centre, said: ‘With the new
equipment, patients with conditions such as lung cancer can be given
high doses of radiation in the most targeted and accurate way possible.
‘Treatment,
which once took 15 minutes, will come down to as little as two minutes.
And there is less chance of the patient moving during the
radiotherapy.’ Dr Diana Tait, vice-president of the Royal College of
Radiologists, welcomed the high-tech treatment.
‘Having
a more focused, shorter treatment cycle will reduce the impact of the
treatment to the healthy tissue surrounding the cancer. That means
patients have to come for fewer sessions.’
The Versa HD delivers more than three times the dose of a normal radiotherapy machine
In another development, tiny ‘beacons’ are being used to make existing radiotherapy techniques more accurate.
The
beacons, which can be temporarily fixed to the skin or implanted, are
designed to monitor movement of the target tumour during radiotherapy,
so as to reduce the risk of damage to healthy surrounding tissue.
In
prostate treatment, for example, it has been shown that the prostate
can move several millimetres during one session, but if the radiation
beam aimed at the tumour touched surrounding healthy tissue it could
lead to side-effects such as incontinence and impotence, for example.
The
beacons, each the size of a grain of rice, ‘talk’ to a central computer
via radiofrequency waves and can send an alert if there is any
movement, enabling the patient to be repositioned if necessary.
Until
recently, the Calypso System, also known as GPS for the body, until
recently was only licensed for use in prostate cancer, but is now being
used to help those with breast cancer to reduce the risk of radiotherapy
damaging the heart. The radiation therapist delivers treatment only
when the transmitters show that the patient is in the correct position
and the heart is not in the path of the beam.
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