First cancer patient treated with fewer doses of radiotherapy | News

Men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer are to be treated with fewer higher doses of radiotherapy treatment.

This means patients can now receive five treatments across two weeks, instead of up to 37 sessions spread over several weeks.

Therapeutic Radiographer, Sophie Why, described the improvement as ‘fantastic’ for patients as it would save both time and travel costs.

This comes after the five year PACE B study found men could be given larger doses of radiotherapy in fewer sessions with the same effectiveness.

Julian Barry, 74, was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a blood test showed his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were raised and is the first Royal Surrey Cancer Centre patient to receive his treatment over five days.

“If I had to have 20 plus sessions I don’t think I would have done it,” said the father-of-six from Shepperton, Surrey, who also suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

“I feel very fortunate that I was able to have this short course of treatment because my cancer was caught early and it had not spread.”

The new shorter course of treatment will benefit up to 25 per cent of the trust’s patients who are treated for prostate cancer.

Introducing it has required a great deal of team work involving consultants, medical physicists, radiotherapy planners, consultant radiographers, review radiographers, therapy radiographers and administrative staff.

Sophie Why, Radiotherapy Operational Manager, said: “We are always looking at how we can improve the patient experience and adopt the latest advancements in treatment.

“This is a fantastic improvement for our patients as it means that they can receive a highly effective cancer treatment while spending less time in hospital and travelling to appointments.

Fellow Radiotherapy Operational Manager, Luise Walter, added: “It also means that we a freeing up vital clinic space, so we are able to start treatment for other patients far more quickly.”

The PACE B study compared the results of 874 patients, who were assigned either longer or shorter courses of treatment.

It found that five years after treatment, 96 per cent of men who received five doses of ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy were cancer free, compared to 95 per cent who received at least 20 doses of standard radiotherapy.