Technical developments in radiotherapy
Team leader: Dr Martin Robinson
Summary
Two areas of research will be expanded
- Technical developments in radiotherapy including intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), virtual simulation and improved target localisation including image registration and multi-modality imaging.
- Radiotherapy based clinical trials addressing the need for treatment in some settings, dose and fractionation in others, as well as integration with drug treatments including radio sensitizers.
Achievements over the past 3 years
Over the last few years our research has focused on the introduction of conformal radiotherapy techniques in head and neck and prostate cancer. This has been achieved via the following completed studies:
- Detailed comparison of the benefit of 3D planning in terms of dose conformity in the head and neck.
- Cost effectiveness assessment of CT planned conformal radiotherapy in head and neck cancer.
- Detailed assessment of the impact of tissue compensators in the quality of treatment plans used in head and neck cancer
- Improving target volume contouring in radiotherapy for head and neck and brain tumours. This study assessed inter and intra-observer variability and the value of intravenous contrast use.
- Detailed analysis of the impact of implementing CT simulated conformal radiotherapy in the treatment planning of head and neck cancer.
- Virtual simulation study of palliative radiotherapy for lung cancer
- Development of an automated image registration system.
- Randomised study of virtual simulation for radical radiotherapy for multiple primary sites.
- A pilot study of the role of hyperpolarised helium-MRI in radiotherapy planning for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients
Ongoing Research
- Continuing to develop an IMRT class solution for planning oropharyngeal tumours.
- Developing IMRT in the department for challenging cases on an individual basis.
- Proposed 2 year project comparing dynamic multi-leaf collimator (MLC) IMRT with step & shoot IMRT evaluating dosimetry using Bang Gel technology and phantoms
- A planning and dosimetry study of nodal coverage in conventional versus IMRT plans in head and neck patients.
- Studying the role of gamma camera PET imaging in radiotherapy planning and follow up for head and neck patients.
- Studying the role of dynamic MRI imaging in radiotherapy planning for head and neck patients.
- Assessing the role of ultrasound for daily target localisation in radical prostate radiotherapy treatment.
Future Research
Future research is focused on the implementation of IMRT in head and neck and prostate cancers. This includes:
- Quantifying prostate motion in relation to portal imaging in radical prostate radiotherapy treatment.