They have a scoop at the UMC Utrecht. Today will be the first time that a patient will also be directly irradiated while scanning a tumor in the prostate area.
At the UMC in Utrecht they treat patients with prostate cancer using the MR-Linac treatment. It is an MRI-guided treatment that irradiates the prostate in a very targeted manner, without affecting surrounding tissue.
Doctors have been doing this for some time, but today an extra step is being taken in this technological development. “Today we are going to apply for the first time in standard care that we not only see what happens to the tumor during radiation. We can also allow the radiation plan to shift during irradiation,” says Martijn Intven, professor of image-guided radiotherapy, in Goedemorgen Nederland on NPO 1.
Fewer side effects
This new method of treatment gives the practitioners a continuous view of the prostate during radiation treatment. “If the tumor moves, we simply move the radiation beam with it. This increases the precision of the irradiation,” says Intven.
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The advantage of this new treatment is that less healthy tissue is affected. In addition, it has fewer side effects and the number of radiation sessions can be reduced. “Where it used to be five or more times, we are going back to twice,” says Intven.
‘Impressive’
Journalist at the FD Jean Dohmen is impressed by this technological breakthrough. “If you look at 25 years ago; the enormous progress that has been made to grant people a longer life or to be cured is impressive to see,” he says.
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By: Vick ten Wolde
