• 12/25/2007
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • staff
  • news.theage.com.au

A state-of-the-art radiation machine being trialled in Australia could revolutionise cancer treatment, saving patients time and money, doctors said.

Doctors at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital are confident the new $2.5 million linear accelerator, now in use for intermediate or phase two trials on early stage breast cancer patients, would be of particular benefit to women from rural and remote areas.

Dr Margot Lehman, a radiation oncologist conducting the trial, said women were being recruited at five centres in Australia, and two in New Zealand, under the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG).

“If we can prove this is a feasible treatment option, then we will be going to a full-blown phase three trial where we will be comparing this technique with the standard six-week course for women with early stage breast cancer who have had breast conserving treatment,” she said.

PA Hospital’s director of radiation oncology services Professor Bryan Burmeister said women in rural or remote areas often opted for a mastectomy rather than spending the time and money on travelling and accommodation needed for six weeks of treatment.

“Now they only have to spend a week and that is a huge difference, in terms of cost, in terms of quality of life and numerous other things,” he said.

Older machines only targeted tumours in relation to the nearest bones, he said.

But the new generation technology pinpointed tumours in soft tissue, enabling radiation treatment to be carried out on a smaller area and over a shorter period once the tumour had been surgically removed.

“If we can accurately position the tumour, we can minimise the radiation dose to surrounding normal tissues,” Prof Burmeister said.

“And if we can reduce the amount of tissue we have to treat in the body, we can certainly make the course of treatment shorter and that enables us to reduce our waiting lists and spare patients a long time away from their homes.”

Prof Burmeister said breast cancer made up a significant part of the oncology department’s workload at the PA Hospital, which was why the breast cancer trial was being conducted, comparing it with conventional six-week treatments.

But the machine also had applications for lung, prostate, head and neck cancers, he said.

“Once this technology becomes more streamlined and we are able to introduce it to other forms of cancer, it will have an impact on reducing the waiting list.”

Marjorie Anderson, 60, from Brisbane bayside suburb Thornlands, said the cancer treatment meant she could spend time with her family at Christmas after condensing six weeks of treatment into one.

“I wouldn’t have been able to go camping (with family),” Ms Anderson told reporters.

“Plus it’s good to get it over twice a day in one full-on week, rather than once a day for six weeks,” Ms Anderson said.