Our President has asked that information on this Trial be circulated widely:

 

Hello David,

 

I would like to inform you about  a trial of new technology that has the potential to benefit men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I am a member of the executive of Cancer Voices NSW and also the Consumer Representative on the Media and Profile Committee Radiation Oncology RANZCR.

I have attached my article summarising the SPARK trial by TROG Cancer Research. As a  Prostate consumer group I thought  that you may be interested in placing it in your  next newsletter.
I can be contacted by email or by telephone on 94601917 if you would like to discuss the article with me.

Regards
Lee Hunt
Cancer Voices NSW.

World First Prostate Cancer Trial

 

Australian researchers have launched a clinical trial which will use revolutionary Kilovoltage Intrafraction Monitoring (KIM) technology to improve targeting accuracy for patients undergoing  radiation therapy for prostate cancer. The SPARK trial, coordinated by TROG Cancer Research, studies Australian-developed technology which monitors the position of the prostate in real-time. This enables the treatment team to redirect the radiation beam if the prostate, and cancer within it, moves by even a few millimetres.

 

The KIM technology can be attached and adapted to current radiation therapy machines, linear accelerators, to allow safer radiation dose intensification. This intensification enables a reduction in the number of treatments needed from around 40 visits to as little as 5 treatment sessions over two weeks.

 

The trial will initially test KIM on around 40-50 men having potentially curative radiation therapy for prostate cancer in a small number of centres around Australia.

 

Radiation therapy is already a safe and very effective treatment option for men with prostate cancer as an alternative to invasive surgery. KIM may allow increased accuracy, potentially reducing side effects, and shorter overall treatment times. It is a technology that will likely be applicable to other cancers affected by organ motion, including lung, liver, kidney and pancreatic cancers.

 

Lee Hunt

Media and Profile Committee

Radiation Oncology RANZCR