Cancer patient to undergo Australia’s first “revolutionary” treatment
Townsville Hospital says it will become the first Australian facility to treat patients with advanced cancer technology designed to target tumours more efficiently.
Starting Tuesday, the hospital will use its newly acquired MRI linear accelerator to allow clinicians to use radiation with improved precision and track the movement of tumours in real time.
The hospital put in a tender for the machine in 2017, with the equipment and installation costing the state and federal governments $10 million.
67-year-old prostate cancer patient John Koch will be the first patient to undergo the treatment at the hospital’s cancer centre on Tuesday.
Koch said the technology would shorten the treatment for the three small lesions in his lower abdomen.
“I’m excited for what the future holds – it’s revolutionary,” he told the ABC.
“The last treatment was six weeks; every single day we were up here.
“With a shortened treatment, there’s no drama – accommodation, family, everything is just 10 times better.”
Radiation oncologist Alex Tan has been treating Koch since his diagnosis in 2014. Tan said the technology decreased the risk of radiation side effects because higher doses could be targeted to small areas, thereby requiring fewer sessions.
“We can give the treatment much more quickly and a much higher dose, hopefully with better results and fewer side effects,” he said.
“In theory, the side effects are the same as with a normal machine, but because we can deliver the treatment more accurately to a smaller volume of tissue, the side effects should be less than a normal machine.
“But we don’t know that yet until we do the research.
“I think this will give us the opportunity to do a lot more than what we’ve been able to do before, and that will allow us to advance the dose and the technique that we use.
“Then, hopefully, [we can] really start to push the boundaries.”
About 120 patients will be able to use the machine in the Townsville facility in its first year of operation.
Tan said MR-Linac machines would also be coming to Sydney and Melbourne soon. “It’s something which hopefully will spawn across the country and make this treatment available to many other patients,” he said.
Clinicians said while the machine can be used to treat many cancers, not all patients are suitable.