Researchers working with the MR Linac—a pioneering radiotherapy machine—have successfully developed treatment plans for patients with an advanced form of lung cancer.

The plans suggest that treating patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer using the MR Linac system would be at least as effective as using conventional linac radiotherapy.

The study represents a key step towards bringing MR Linac radiotherapy to these patients in the clinic.

How it works

MR Linac systems MRI to tailor the shape of the radiotherapy beam in real time, and can accurately deliver doses of radiation even to moving tumors.

However, the addition of the magnetic field can affect the way the beam works, so traditional treatment plans—which detail the areas to be targeted by the beam—need to be adapted accordingly.

Using patient MRIs and computer modeling, the researchers found that in every case it was possible to design an MR Linac treatment plan that gave an adequate dose of radiation to the tumor tissue, while avoiding giving too much to the surrounding organs.

The research was supported by Cancer Research UK and NHS funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.