New MRI-radiation hybrid machine in Alberta expected to improve cancer treatment by at least 20 per cent
Technology in Alberta that is expected to allow doctors to more accurately and effectively treat cancerous tumours with radiation enters clinical trials next week.
This next step, after 15 years of work, was celebrated in Edmonton on Friday as a "game changer" and "true medical breakthrough."
The LMR, or Linac-MR machine, simultaneously delivers radiotherapy and high-resolution imaging – something researchers say was previously considered impossible because the magnetic field and x-rays of the two machines interfere with each other if placed within 10 metres.
But a tumour's position can shift with a patient's movement, as they go between machines, or even by breathing. So doctors need to use radiation more conservatively to avoid hitting healthy tissue or organs near a tumour, which in turn means lower radiation doses and a higher number of treatment sessions.
"Say I know exactly where the tumour is without killing healthy tissue: We can calculate the cure rates will improve by 20 to 40 per cent for all solid tumours," creator Dr. Gino Fallone told reporters.
The medical physicist at the University of Alberta has been working on the idea with researchers from Edmonton's Cross Cancer Institute and Alberta Health Services since 2008.
Dr. Nawaid Usmani, who will lead the clinical study, also expects the machine will be able to treat tumours that are difficult to access – like prostate, liver, and pancreatic cancers.
"Over the course of your career, it's very rare to be involved in a true innovation, something that revolutionalizes how treatment is administered and is able to offer new treatments to patients," he commented during the news conference at the Cross Cancer Institute.
"I'm very fortunate to have been involved in this innovation as I've been able to witness right before my eyes this concept become a reality."
'VERY OPTIMISTIC'
Usmani's team is hoping to include 100 patients in the LMR's first year-long trial. Five more phases, each with roughly 100 more participants, will follow.
Marvin Bahry, an 84-year-old prostate cancer patient, will be the first-ever clinical trial participant.
Bahry first had prostate cancer around 12 years ago and told CTV News he has "high hopes" to beat it again.
"I'm very optimistic that all of his research and the hard work of Dr. Usmani and other doctors and nurses and so on, will benefit not only me but all the other people who come here," he said.
"Any good that comes out of it from me will benefit others and that's my little contribution to others in this world…I see nothing but good coming out of all of this."
Jordan Turko, a Cross Cancer Institute fundraiser and cancer survivor, echoed Bahry's thoughts: "When I think about innovations like this, it buys folks like me more time."
In April 2022, at 30 years old, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer his doctor believes developed over a period of just four months. Nine months of targeted radiation and pill therapy later, he says his cancer has "fully retreated."
"For the average person, as time goes on, you get less of it. It goes on, you get a little older. But for cancer patients, it's ironic that within innovations like this, when we get a little more time," Turko said of the LMR.
"So things like this are a really big deal because they buy a little more time. Which hopefully means that another great innovator will buy more time and give us more moments in our life."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.