Modified radiotherapy less likely to damage healthy cells: Experts

A modified way of concentrating radiotherapy dose in tumour while minimising damage to healthy cells has been proposed in a recent research.

The study —proposes that focusing high-energy particle beams on a small spot deep inside the body could potentially enable clinicians to target cancerous tumour precisely.

External beam radiotherapy involves treating patients with either high energy X-rays or particle beams. Tumour cells are killed by the radiation, which is usually administered in multiple fractions, which are applied daily over several weeks.

The lead of the project, said: “Around half of the population will suffer from cancer at some time in their lives. Of these people, half will be treated using radiotherapy or a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”

One of the challenges in radiotherapy is to deposit a high radiation dose in a way that the dose fully ‘conforms’ to the tumour to ensure that all cancerous cells are killed while preventing damage to healthy cells. Our study showed that we can very simply focus radiation onto a tumour to irradiate it while reducing the dose in surrounding healthy tissue.”

One of the disadvantages of using X-rays in radiotherapy is that these are absorbed in the body and their effects diminish, resulting in a high entrance dose. Proximal and distal doses before and after the tumour can also be as high as, or higher than, the radiation dose in the tumour.

To eradicate the tumour precisely with sufficient radiation to kill all tumour cells, the X-ray beam is often rotated while pointing at the tumour from different directions, while the patient remains stationary.

An effective radiotherapy modality uses heavier particles such as protons and ions. These have the advantage of radiation doses that can be confined to a small region called the “Bragg peak.”

“This work presents a comprehensive numerical study of fundamental issues encountered in cancer treatment with very high energy electrons for a wide range of geometries. Results suggest that technology and beam transport systems routinely employed in high-energy particle accelerators could find direct application in this field, expanding the range of tools available for radiotherapy,” said  one of the researchers of the study.

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Surgery to improve walking ability in children with cerebral palsy

A recent research has discovered a surgical procedure that can improve walking ability in children with cerebral palsy. The procedure, known as selective dorsal rhizotomy, involves cutting some of the sensory nerves from the legs as they enter the spinal cord in order to relieve stiffness, improve mobility and reduce children's pain levels.

The operation is irreversible, and it had not previously been fully established whether it helped to improve children's quality of life, or what the longer-term effects were. Because of the lack of evidence of the benefits of the procedure, doctors in England established an innovative study that assessed eligible children with cerebral palsy before and after the operation.

Cerebral palsy is the name for a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and coordination, caused by abnormal development or damage to the brain that occurs before, during or soon after birth. In the UK around 1,700 children, every year are born with cerebral palsy. Treatments include medicines to relieve muscle stiffness, pain relief, and physiotherapy to aid walking.

The team of researchers was instructed to find out whether selective dorsal rhizotomy did improve outcomes for these children with cerebral palsy. "NHS England has now decided that this procedure will be funded as a direct result of this innovative project. It's great to get this decision so that it will make a difference to patients," said one of the lead researchers of the study.

For the research, five centres were selected to perform selective dorsal rhizotomy, resulting in 137 children receiving the procedure. The researchers then collected and analysed data on patients' progress for two years after their operations.

Their results, showed the procedure benefited children by improving their movement, quality of life and levels of pain. They also found that there were no significant health risks to the children from the procedure.

"This procedure is for children with cerebral palsy who can walk but are having problems because the stiffness in their legs leads to pain and a lack of control over movement. Because it involves cutting nerves, the procedure is irreversible," the author explained.

Researchers claim this study shows objectively that the procedure does improve motor function, and doesn't have dangerous side effects. For some children with cerebral palsy and their families, this could really improve the quality of life and help children walk more easily and without the use of walking frames and other aids.  

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This primrose plant compound could combat eye cancer

A compound extracted from the Christmas berry primrose plant could be effective in slowing down the spread of eye cancer, suggests a study.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is a cancer (melanoma) of the eye involving the iris, ciliary body, or choroid (collectively referred to as the uvea).

The compound, dubbed FR900359 or FR, effectively blocked the growth of the uveal melanoma cells and it can one day be developed as an effective drug to treat the disease, the researchers said. 

It works by blocking a particular type of G protein that sits on a cell's membrane, called Gq, said researchers.

The team grew three different types of UM cells that have the cancer-spurring mutations in the lab and then treated the cells with FR.

The findings, showed that FR appeared to help reset the cells back to their normal state, he said. Higher doses of FR killed the cells.

"I'm very optimistic. If the results are confirmed in animal models and eventually humans, it could offer a new way to treat metastatic uveal melanoma patients down the road," said a Professor.

UM is the most common eye cancer in adults which most often travels to the liver. The cancer forms in melanocytes, the cells that make pigment.

Surgery or radiation is the go-to treatment for patients with primary UM that has not spread to other parts of the body. 

But metastases occur in about half of cases. The cancer most often travels to the liver. Once the cancer has spread, patients often only have a year or so to live as no effective therapies yet exist.

However, FR very effectively blocked the growth of the uveal melanoma cells, the research showed.

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