Cancer patients to be offered pioneering radiotherapy in new clinical trial
Cancer patients are being offered a pioneering radiotherapy technique as part of a new clinical trial.
Intraoperative electron beam radiotherapy (IOERT) is delivered directly to the cancer site during surgery to try and ensure no cancer cells are left behind.
People having surgery at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) for rectal cancer that has spread into the pelvis will be invited to join the ELECTRA trial. This aims to see whether this precision radiotherapy can improve surgical outcomes.
The trial is being run by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU) and is led by Alex Mirnezami, a Professor of Surgical Oncology and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at UHS.
“Advanced and recurrent rectal cancers in the pelvis can be very difficult to treat,” he says. “Standard treatment involves chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by an operation to remove the cancer. But if the cancer cells are at the edge of the removed tissue, there is a high chance of leaving cancer cells behind which can regrow into a new tumour and cause the patient to relapse.”
Destroying cancer cells
Radiotherapy is a common cancer treatment, given to around half of all patients, where a high energy electron beam is used to destroy cancer cells in an affected area of the body.
By giving an extremely precise, targeted dose of radiotherapy directly to the cancer site during surgery, IOERT aims to destroy any remaining cells and reduce the chance of the cancer returning, as well as reducing damage to healthy surrounding tissue.
Daniel Griffiths, Trial Manager at SCTU, said: “While IOERT is already used for some surgeries in Southampton, it is not currently provided by the NHS. During this trial, we will gather evidence as to how effective the procedure is at removing all cancer cells, and whether it should be routinely provided for people undergoing surgery for this cancer type.”
Unique in the UK
Southampton currently has the only IOERT machine in the UK, funded by the PLANETS cancer charity which is supporting the new trial.
Layla Stephen, CEO of PLANETS, said: "We are extremely proud to have funded the UK’s first mobile electron beam radiotherapy machine - Mobetron - since 2016. It is a ground-breaking treatment, and our teams have seen some really positive initial results in a range of different cancers.
“However, it is very expensive at a cost of over £800,000 for the machine itself and ongoing costs, all of which are currently met by our charity. More evidence is needed through clinical trials before it will be considered for NHS funding and become a standard part of treatment for patients who may benefit from it. Therefore, securing the ELECTRA trial is a significant development that could help provide that evidence for this patient group and that is very exciting.”
‘Proud to be part of research’
Georgie Parsons, 37, was treated with IOERT in 2019 during surgery for a reoccurrence of bowel cancer.
“I felt very special and lucky to have the opportunity to receive IOERT,” says Georgie. “The cancer was growing in a tricky place and was difficult to treat it where it was. Therefore, the principles of providing radiotherapy directly to the cancer during surgery made sense.”
Following surgery, Georgie completed a course of chemotherapy and is now coming up to three years post-surgery with no active cancer. Georgie was previously a research nurse herself, and now works for the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).
“I am proud to be part of research that may help cancer patients and that may help fund the machines’ use in the NHS,” she says. “I hope the trial provides the experts with more information about IOERT and leads to more developments in this field of cancer treatment.”
The ELECTRA trial is funded by IntraOp who make the IOERT machine. It is endorsed by Cancer Research UK with support from the PLANETS charity.
Lead image: Professor Alex Mirnezami