At this year’s ESTRO Congress1, invited participants could witness the first seminar and discussion on Augmented SBRT2 – a concept encompassing leading-edge technologies for motion tracking and enhanced method for accuracy in radiotherapy for prostate cancer, with a focus on treatment outcomes and patients’ quality of life. The seminar brought together some of Europe’s most renowned experts in the field and energized continued development and collaboration to ensure these effective treatment options reach more patients.
Around 70 percent of all prostate cancer cases in Europe are currently treated with surgery. This is even though research3 clearly shows that surgery is significantly more likely than radiation therapy to cause side effects such as lost or weakened potency and incontinence – conditions that greatly impact patients’ quality of life. It is also well known that standard radiation treatments often used to result in damage to the urinary tract and rectum. But that was many years ago. Nowadays, radiation therapy has been significantly improved with new innovative techniques.
Augmented SBRT – Highlighting the Possibilities
Long-term studies4 have shown that treatments involving seven or five radiation sessions at higher doses can combat cancer just as effectively as traditional treatment with 20 or more sessions. With these findings established, the field is shifting toward fewer sessions with higher radiation doses per treatment becoming the standard. Higher doses increase the risk of side effects, but with the modern technology these risks can be avoided.
Augmented SBRT makes use of the possibilities already in place: precise, effective prostate cancer treatment with minimal side effects, benefitting patients by preserving their quality of life and offering quicker, more convenient treatment, and benefitting society through more efficient healthcare delivery.
“The goal is treatment in five or fewer sessions with zero side effects. That’s entirely possible and already being done today,” says Thomas Lindström, MD at Micropos Medical.
Monitoring Prostate Motion is Essential
A key challenge in prostate cancer radiotherapy is that the prostate moves during treatment. There are different solutions on the market taking care of this challenge, which is what Augmented SBRT is about. Technologies with this purpose is MR-Linac, CyberKnife and Raypilot System. The latter is a technology for accurate prostate motion tracking and precision during radiotherapy developed by Micropos Medical. The solutions have been on the market a few years, and all three are now supported by research data demonstrating strong and comparable results in terms of clinical benefit and performance.
Renowned Researchers Involved
The concept of Augmented SBRT has been developed in collaboration with leading clinical researchers. At this year’s ESTRO Congress in Vienna, Micropos Medical hosted a seminar on Augmented SBRT featuring some of Europe’s top experts in the field. The event focused on the core of Augmented SBRT: innovation, methods, and technology that ensure patients’ quality of life through modern, accurate, and effective prostate cancer treatment with good outcomes and minimal side effects. The ultimate vision is “zero toxicity”. All the seminar speakers expressed optimism about the treatment possibilities already available, sharing experiences and research findings.
“We are pleased with the very positive reception of Augmented SBRT. Now we will continue to work together with clinical researchers and industry partners to raise awareness and increase knowledge about the available treatment opportunities. There is a lot to gain here, primarily regarding the patients’ quality of life, but also socio-economic benefits due to the efficiency these modern treatments offer healthcare providers”, says Thomas Lindström.
Speakers at the ESTRO Seminar:
Quality of Life with Accuracy
Prof. Piet Ost, Radiation Oncologist, Iridium Network, GZA Ziekenhuizen, Antwerp. Associate professor Ghent University, Belgium
Urethra Sparing and Motion Control
Prof. Thomas Zilli, Radiation Oncology, IOSI – Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, EOC, Switzerland
MR Linac and Low Toxicity
Prof. Filippo Alongi, Chairman of Advanced Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Ospedale S.Cuore Don Calabria, Negrar-Verona and Professor at University of Brescia, Italy
Re-radiation with SBRT
Prof. Giulia Marvaso, Radiation Oncologist at the European Institute of Oncology Milan, Assistant Professor at the University of Milan Oncology Department
Targeting Zero Toxicity
Prof. Stefano Arcangeli, Radiation Oncologist, Associate Professor University of Milan Bicocca
1. ESTRO, European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology
2. SBRT, Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, the patient is treated on five or fewer occasions, for five or fewer days in a row and with a significantly higher radiation dose each time than with traditional treatment
3. Radical Prostatectomy Versus Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Clinically Localised Prostate Cancer: Results of the PACE-A Randomised Trial, Nicholas van As et al, European Urology, 2024
4. The HYPO-RT-PC-study, The Lancet Oncology, February 2021. Phase 3 Trial of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Localized Prostate Cancer, Prof A. Widmark
