A NEW study under way at the Calvary Mater Hospital could be a game-changer for cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.
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Led by Professor Peter Greer, the study – believed to be the first of its kind in Australia and New Zealand – is creating treatment plans for patients with prostate cancer using only magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
But the same technique could be applied to brain, head and neck, and pelvic and abdominal cancer treatments in the future, Professor Greer said.
Traditionally, MRI scans are taken so the oncologist can clearly see the prostate and the tissues around it.
“They can then plan the treatment to get a high dose of radiation to the prostate and as little as possible to the surrounding tissues,” Professor Greer said.
“But we’ve never been able to calculate the dosage to the patient just with the MRI scans. Previously, we have needed to take a CT scan as well, which introduces extra uncertainties, and makes it a little bit less accurate.
“It also costs more, and it means the patient has to have an extra scan. If we can do it all just with the MRI scan, it’s going to be more accurate, cheaper, and better for the patient.”
In collaboration with the CSIRO and the University of Newcastle, Professor Greer and his team have developed a way to calculate the dose of radiation needed solely relying on MRI scans.
The method requires the creation of a virtual CT scan for the patient using the MRI data.
The first MRI-only prostate patient has received their first radiation therapy treatment fraction at the Calvary Mater Hospital.
The study is expected to be completed within 12 months, and will involve 25 patients across sites at the Calvary Mater and Liverpool Hospital.
“In the future, we’re hoping to completely eliminate the need for CT scans for these patients,” Professor Greer said.
“It will be better for the patient, and the health system.
“And with the increase of accuracy, we’re hoping to reduce the amount of normal tissues that we are treating, and so reduce the side effects, or possibly be able to give more of a dose to the tumour itself.”
The researchers started with prostate cancer because of its high incidence, and also because MRI already played a major role in its treatment.
Professor Greer said they expected the same method could eventually be used to create treatment plans for other cancers, particularly brain, head and neck, and pelvic and abdominal cancers.
“These other sites are similar in that they are already using MRI, but also need additional CT scans to calculate the dosage,” he said. “This is the start of it. Radiation oncology will be treating more sites, as well as prostate, using this technique.”
