Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (AIM:AVO)’s LIGHT proton beam therapy system is able to deliver FLASH radiotherapy more effectively than the existing technology.
That, at least, is the conclusion arrived at by two papers authored by senior research staff at the company.
The FLASH technique uses ultra-high radiation doses several orders of magnitude higher than that currently deployed in conventional clinical radiotherapy.
It is delivered in fractions of a second and offers the potential to treat cancer patients in a single go rather than up to the 30 visits required with traditional radiation therapy.
In short, it has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of the disease.
"The results published showcase the potential superiority of the LIGHT system for delivering FLASH radiotherapy,” said Dr Jonathan Farr, AVO’s chief clinical officer.
“FLASH proton therapy provides the potential to change clinical practice and improve patient outcomes, as it could see patients treated in a single session with significantly reduced normal tissue toxicity burden post-treatment, and the company's LIGHT system is ideally positioned to deliver it.
“There is an urgent need to treat more cancer patients while reducing the toxicity burden, which can damage healthy tissue, associated with legacy radiation therapy systems."
Farr and colleagues authored the first paper, while the second was ’penned’ by AVO’s medical physicist Anna Kolano and her team.
For more information, click here.