How cancer patient lies can double death rate

How a patient lies during radiotherapy treatment for lung or oesophageal cancer has a significant impact on how likely they are to survive.

Differences of only a few millimetres can result in the cancer treatment moving closer to the heart, almost doubling the likelihood of death, students at the Manchester Cancer Research Centre found.

They presented their findings at the ESTRO 37 conference in Barcelona.

Prof Yolande Lievens, the ESTRO president, said: “This suggests that changes to protocols could impact the survival of patients with lung and oesophageal cancer, both of which have high mortality rates.”