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
Reducing The Greatest Uncertainty In Radiotherapy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$594,197.00
Summary
The weakest link in radiotherapy is defining treatment volumes (contouring). Lack of accuracy and consistency in clinical trial contouring has been shown to result in reduced patient outcomes. Manual review of contouring is resource intensive, expensive and for advanced treatments unachievable in a timely fashion. We will assess an automated approach to contouring assessment using 4 clinical trial datasets, changing practice for future studies and enabling consistent assessment in the clinic.
A Randomised Phase III Study Of Radiation Doses And Fractionation Schedules For Non-low Risk Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Of The Breast
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$658,419.00
Summary
After surgery to remove ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a pre-invasive form of breast cancer, radiotherapy to the breast decreases the risk of recurrence. The study investigates if a higher radiation dose to the tumour bed improves tumour control, and if a shorter course of radiotherapy is as effective as the standard longer course. It also assesses quality of life consequences of treatment and tests biomarkers that may predict the risk of recurrence in individual patients.
A Randomised Trial Of Surgery Versus Surgery Plus Radiotherapy For Regional Control In Patients With Stage 3 Melanoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,163.00
Summary
Melanoma is a common disease in Australia. When it has spread to lymph glands it has a poor prognosis. If not controlled it can lead to severe local symptoms including pain, bleeding and disabilty. This is a world first clinical trial involving radiotherapy given after surgery for melanoma involving regional lymph glands. It involves a head to head comparison of surgery alone versus surgery followed by radiotherapy. The target is 230 patients, more than 160 being so far recruited. The main outco ....Melanoma is a common disease in Australia. When it has spread to lymph glands it has a poor prognosis. If not controlled it can lead to severe local symptoms including pain, bleeding and disabilty. This is a world first clinical trial involving radiotherapy given after surgery for melanoma involving regional lymph glands. It involves a head to head comparison of surgery alone versus surgery followed by radiotherapy. The target is 230 patients, more than 160 being so far recruited. The main outcome of the study is control of melanoma in the lymph gland basin. Other outcomes are survival, time to recurrence, side-effects (such as lymphoedema) and quality of life. The trial currently involves 13 centres in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. It is expects to be completed in 2007.Read moreRead less
Assessment Of Rectal And Urinary Toxicity From The RADAR Prostate Radiotherapy Trial – Dosimetric Constraints For Novel Symptom Clustering, Derivation Of Radiobiological Parameters And Assessment Of Patient Localisation Effects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$323,484.00
Summary
Increasing prostate radiotherapy cure rates by increasing radiation dose is limited by side-effects in the rectum and bladder which can greatly decrease patient quality of life. This study will utilise detailed data, collected during a large Australasian trial, to extract information on how patterns of dose delivery influence side-effects in the bladder and rectum, including a novel definition of rectal toxicity. The result will be more effective future treatment.
A Randomised Phase III Study Of Radiation Doses And Fractionation Schedules In Non-low Risk DCIS Of The Breast
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,751,209.00
Summary
Treatment of ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS), a preinvasive form of breast cancer, is aimed at preventing invasive cancer recurrence. Women with higher-risk DCIS have an increased risk of recurrence. This study aims to individualise treatment for women with DCIS to achieve long-term tumour control with minimal treatment toxicity. After local excision of DCIS, radiotherapy (RT) to the whole breast reduces the recurrence rate. However, it is unclear if escalating radiation dose to the tumour bed i ....Treatment of ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS), a preinvasive form of breast cancer, is aimed at preventing invasive cancer recurrence. Women with higher-risk DCIS have an increased risk of recurrence. This study aims to individualise treatment for women with DCIS to achieve long-term tumour control with minimal treatment toxicity. After local excision of DCIS, radiotherapy (RT) to the whole breast reduces the recurrence rate. However, it is unclear if escalating radiation dose to the tumour bed in higher-risk women increases tumour control. It is also uncertain if giving fewer but larger radiation doses over 3-4 weeks would achieve the same tumour control as the standard 5-7 week course of RT to improve patient convenience and access to RT. Thus, this multicentre study of 610 women with higher-risk DCIS will investigate if adding a tumour bed radiation boost after whole breast RT improves tumour control, and the shorter RT course achieves the same tumour control as the standard longer course. Currently, the ability to predict the malignant potential of DCIS and RT toxicity is limited. This study will investigate if there are biological and genetic markers predictive of invasive recurrence and normal tissue toxicity in women with DCIS using state of the art technology. Women need to weigh up the likelihood of cancer control against adverse treatment effects to make an informed treatment decision. However, very little is known about the quality of life (QoL) consequences of the diagnosis and treatment of DCIS. In this study, the QoL, psychological distress, perceived risk of invasive cancer recurrence and perceived cosmetic outcomes of women with DCIS, will be assessed using a questionnaire of validated measures. This study will refine treatment for women with DCIS according to their risks of recurrence. It will significantly advance the understanding of the biology of DCIS and its psychological and QoL outcomes after treatment.Read moreRead less
A Randomized Trial Of 2 Radiation And Systemic Therapy Strategies In Good Prognosis Advanced Human Papilloma Virus -associated Cancer Of The Tonsil And Base Of Tongue
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,097,932.00
Summary
Cancers of the tonsil and base of tongue due to the human papilloma virus have a better prognosis than other head and neck cancers, but standard treatment can result in significant acute and late side effects. This trial aims to compare two types of chemotherapy and radiotherapy that are less intensive than standard treatment. The aim of the trial is to determine which treatment is associated with better quality of life and less side effects, while maintaining efficacy.
Exploring Barriers To Radiotherapy Utilization And Developing A Patient Reported Tool To Measure The Inconvenience Associated With Accessing And Utilising Radiotherapy Services
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Summary
Understanding how much inconvenience patients will accept in order to gain an outcome benefit radiotherapy (RT), may help understand & improve access to RT, influence doctors� attitudes on referring for RT & enhance shared decision making. RT related choices are important to all patients but likely to be particularly relevant to those from rural & remote areas. This research will explore perceptions of RT & develop a tool to measure RT-related inconvenience.
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
A Multi-Centre Feasibility Study Of Online Adaptive Image Guided Radiotherapy For Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$580,152.00
Summary
Many studies have shown that the bladder can move, change in size and shape through a course of radiation therapy. As shown in a pilot study, with the online adaptive radiotherapy technique trained staff can daily match the radiation fields to the bladder position and size using a type of CT scan. Potential benefits are better cancer coverage with improved cancer control and less normal tissue irradiation. This study will determine if the technique will work across multiple Australian centres.