The Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Clinical Cancer Center is in the process of becoming the fifth site, globally, to install Elekta's MR-linac system.
Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Network joined Elekta’s MR-linac research consortium in 2013 – a group of institutions around the world that aim to demonstrate that MR-linac technology can improve patient outcomes for existing radiation therapy indications, and make radiation therapy available for other indications.
The MR-linac integrates a radiotherapy system and a high-field MR scanner with advanced software. It allows physicians to view high-quality images of tumors and surrounding tissues while the radiation therapy is being delivered.
It helps the physician better target tumor tissue, which reduces the amount of radiation that the healthy tissue is exposed to. They can track the tumor during therapy, even if the tumor tissue moves and changes between treatment sessions.
“Initially, we will focus on establishing clinical protocols and refining methods for data collection and analysis in pancreatic cancer, a deadly disease with limited treatment options,” Dr. J. Frank Wilson, radiation oncologist with Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Network, said in a statement.
The other members of the consortium are the Netherland Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Institute of Cancer Research. The members are currently involved in various stages of evaluating the technology and developing clinical protocols and methods for data collection and analysis.
From September 29 to 30, the consortium is holding an annual meeting at the Clinical Cancer Center. They will discuss how this technology has the potential to improve care for patients with brain, breast, cervix, esophagus, lung, oropharynx, pancreas, prostate and rectal cancers.
