First UK cancer patient given revolutionary treatment

‘For us, it is a dream come true, because for the first time we can actually see what we are treating’

THE first UK patient has received radiotherapy using a machine which could one day cure some cancers in a single treatment.

The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London is only the third centre in the world to use the technology.

The MR Linac machine, described as a “dream come true” for radiologists, is unique in generating magnetic resonance images (MRI) while also delivering X-ray radiation beams. Barry Dolling, 65, who was diagnosed with early prostate cancer in April, said he “jumped at the chance” to be the first in the country to try the technology.

He will receive four weeks of radiotherapy as part of a small clinical trial of patients with localised prostate cancer at the Royal Marsden.

Many cancer tumours shift position during radiotherapy or between scanning and treatment. Breathing, bladder filling or bowel changes can all affect the location of cancer, raising the risk of radiotherapy being off-target.

However the MR Linac machine allows clinicians to constantly monitor the location of the tumour while delivering treatment.

Professor Uwe Oelfke, head of the joint department of physics at the ICR and Royal Marsden, who leads the project, said: “For us, it is a dream come true, because for the first time we can actually see what we are treating. We can see the tumour when it’s moving, we can see the organs that are raised, we can see daily changes like shrinking of tumours or swelling of tissues. You can react to everything that’s happening.”

Clinicians using the machine take an MRI scan of the patient, before designing a plan for radiotherapy for that day, reacting to any changes in the anatomy. This can also be adjusted in real-time, as treatment is delivered.

The UK trial will initially examine prostate cancer, but it is hoped the machine will improve radiotherapy for a wide range of cancers, including hard-to-treat lung and pancreatic cancers.

Dr Alison Tree, consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden and lead investigator of the trial, said: “Prostate cancer responds most effectively to large doses of radiation delivered over a short period of time… It is possible that this groundbreaking precision will one day make it possible to cure prostate cancer in a single treatment.”

She added: “That is science fiction at the moment unfortunately, but that’s our dream really.”