Tool allows precise targeting of radiotherapy for cancer radiation therapy

A system that allows precise targeting of radiotherapy using real-time X-ray images has allowed French doctors to increase the dose of radiation they administered to lung and liver cancers while minimizing harm to nearby healthy tissue, researchers report at the 2nd European Lung Cancer Conference.

"With this study we show that it is possible and very important to have a precise system that can give information at any time before or during treatment in terms of patient condition, technical issues and treatment duration, always maintaining the accuracy and safety of the irradiation," said Dr Corina Udrescu from Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, who presented the data at the conference.

The system tested by the French researchers was ExacTrac SV, which uses X-ray images acquired at any moment during treatment delivery to visualize tumors that move or change size and shape during radiotherapy treatment.

"The ultimate aim is to precisely irradiate the target, and protect the surrounding tissues from radiation as much as possible," Dr Udrescu said. "Then we get the optimal ratio of tumor benefit to normal tissue damages."

Provided by European Society for Medical Oncology