First Ever System To Continuously And Directly Measure The Internal Anatomy To Guide Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment Under Deep Inspiration Breath Hold
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,766.00
Summary
We propose a first ever system to continuously and directly measure the internal anatomy of the patient during radiotherapy of left sided breast cancer to ensure correct position of patient and radiation beam. The proposed method involves no additional radiation dose to the patient. It relies on existing components of modern radiation treatment machines, requiring no additional equipment, which will make it easy to implement widely.
Improving Radiation Therapy Of Static And Moving Targets Using High Spatial Resolution Real-time Dosimeters
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$544,425.00
Summary
Radiation therapy is a major oncology modality for cancer treatment and more than 50% of cancer patients can benefit from radiotherapy at some stage of management. This project will develop two real-time, high spatial resolution dosimetry systems for quality assurance of contemporary radiation treatments of static and movable targets. It will be possible to minimize human and robotic system error so as to guarantee accurate cancer treatment delivery and improve the clinical outcomes of radiother ....Radiation therapy is a major oncology modality for cancer treatment and more than 50% of cancer patients can benefit from radiotherapy at some stage of management. This project will develop two real-time, high spatial resolution dosimetry systems for quality assurance of contemporary radiation treatments of static and movable targets. It will be possible to minimize human and robotic system error so as to guarantee accurate cancer treatment delivery and improve the clinical outcomes of radiotherapy.Read moreRead less
A Multicentre Feasibility Study Of Partial Breast Irradiation Using 3D Conformal Radiotherapy For Early Breast Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$154,910.00
Summary
Breast conserving therapy (BCT) is an accepted treatment option for most women with early breast cancer. Whole breast irradiation (WBI) after breast conserving surgery substantially reduces the risk of breast recurrence. However, the prolonged 5-7 week course of WBI substantially decreases the quality of life (QoL) experienced by women and is a logistical problem particularly for the elderly and women who reside far from a radiotherapy (RT) facility. In order to improve the access and convenienc ....Breast conserving therapy (BCT) is an accepted treatment option for most women with early breast cancer. Whole breast irradiation (WBI) after breast conserving surgery substantially reduces the risk of breast recurrence. However, the prolonged 5-7 week course of WBI substantially decreases the quality of life (QoL) experienced by women and is a logistical problem particularly for the elderly and women who reside far from a radiotherapy (RT) facility. In order to improve the access and convenience of BCT, accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is being investigated. Research shows that 75% of the breast recurrences occur at the tumour bed after BCT implying that in selected women, RT may be limited to the tumour bed only. By limiting the breast volume irradiated, it is feasible to accelerate radiation dose delivery and reduce overall treatment time. In addition, a shorter schedule permits more efficient use of RT resources. To determine if APBI could replace WBI as standard of care for selected women with early breast cancer treated with BCT, it is necessary to demonstrate its technical feasibility and equivalence of outcomes compared to WBI. This study investigates the feasibility, toxicity, cosmetic outcome, local control and QoL of women with early breast cancer treated with APBI using a novel technique. It uses advanced 3-dimensional RT planning and multiple fields shaped to conform to the target volume (tumour bed) and spare the normal organs. It is more likely than the other modalities to be adopted as the preferred APBI technique in Australia because it uses equipments readily available in most RT centres and being non-invasive, is likely to be preferred by patients. However, its feasibility in multiple Australian centres with varying RT equipments is unclear. Given the current high level of international interest, it is timely to conduct this feasibility study in preparation for large scale research to determine if APBI may replace WBI in BCT.Read moreRead less