A new radiotherapy technique could revolutionise cancer treatment

New radiotherapy technology can reduce the severe side effects of treating cancers of the head and neck according to latest trial results presented at the National Cancer Research Institute Conference today (Monday). The phase III trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and run by The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, found that patients given the new kind of radiotherapy were 50 per cent less likely to suffer from dry mouth – the main side effect of treatment. Dry mouth is a lack of saliva caused by radiotherapy damage to the saliva glands, which are often close to the tumour. It can affect speaking, eating and oral health.
But the new technology – called Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) – more accurately targets an effective dose of radiotherapy to the tumour, reducing damage to healthy organs, in this case the saliva glands. The trial called PARSPORT involved 94 participants. Half were treated with traditional radiotherapy and the other half were treated with the new radiotherapy. The researchers found that after 12 months, only 39 per cent of patients who had the new treatment suffered from dry mouth compared to 74 per cent who had the traditional treatment.
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