Improved MRI-guided radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer enabled by robust artificial intelligence
Background
Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in Australia and has the lowest 5-year survival rate of any common cancer at around 13%. Radiotherapy techniques based on intense, precisely focused radiation beams have emerged as an effective treatment option for patients that are not suited for surgery and have been shown to improve survival in preliminary studies. However, most people cannot receive these effective, high-dose treatments due to the risk of damaging the surrounding healthy organs. Hence, safer, lower doses of radiation are typically prescribed.
About the project
Dr Waddington’s group aims to solve the targeting challenges of current radiation technology, which reduces the efficacy and safety of pancreatic cancer radiotherapy. Through harnessing new artificial intelligence (AI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies to track the tumour position during treatment, they can adapt the radiotherapy beam to organ motion and pause treatment when healthy organs unexpectedly move into the radiation path.
Impact
This technology will improve the safety of pancreatic cancer radiotherapy by reducing unintended damage to the healthy organs surrounding the pancreas. Improving the precision of this novel radiation technology could present a new treatment strategy for the 1,200 Australians diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic cancer each year.