Adaptive radiotherapy

Adaptive radiotherapy uses advanced technology to adjust daily treatment in real-time based on changes to internal or external anatomy

What is adaptive radiotherapy?

Adaptive radiotherapy is an advanced technique which uses the latest in radiotherapy technology to seamlessly adapt radiation treatment each day to changes in the shape and size of the targeted cancer, as well as daily natural movements in the surrounding healthy organs, in order to improve tumour targeting and to protect those surrounding healthy organs.

During radiotherapy, it is very important that the body and internal organs are in the exact same position for every treatment session. This is traditionally achieved through preparation each day before your radiotherapy session by filling up the bladder and emptying the bowel, as well as with the use of special immobilisation devices such as body moulds, vacuum bags and radiotherapy masks to ensure patients can lie comfortably in a stable position that reduces motion during treatment.

Adaptive radiotherapy assists as part of this process through monitoring any changes to the body and accounting for these to ensure the radiotherapy is delivered as accurately as possible, without the need to re-position the body and re-target the machine which can cause delays in treatment.

Ethos radiotherapy

Varian Ethos™ radiotherapy is the latest in adaptive radiotherapy technology and uses artificial intelligence to tailor treatment to the unique shape or position of the body or organs each day. The technology accounts for movements in internal or external anatomy during each treatment and allows your radiotherapy team to change the dose and delivery in real time with precision accuracy.

Artificial intelligence ensures radiotherapy treatment is delivered at a greater level of precision by limiting the dose to surrounding healthy tissue and potentially reducing side effects. Ethos™ can efficiently deliver an entire personalised treatment in a typical 15-minute timeslot, compared with other online adaptive solutions that can take more than 40 minutes due to the manual reconfiguration of the treatment.

Ethos™ therapy is available at Icon Cancer Centre Greenslopes.