Cancer patient is the first child to be digitized in an innovative radiotherapy device

A young patient with brain cancer became the first child to test an innovative radiotherapy device.

Alex Burchell, 13, volunteered to be scanned into the Linac MR device from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, to help doctors prepare to look after the children. .

The hospital hopes to begin delivering radiation therapy to selected pediatric patients using the technology next year.

Scientists believe that this machine, which produces magnetic resonance images (MRI) while delivering X-rays, may one day cure some cancers in one treatment.

Alex Burchell, 13, a young patient with brain cancer who became the first child to test Linac MR

The technology can track the changing positions of tumors in real time, allowing clinicians to continually monitor their location during treatment.

Alex, a Tottenham fan, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor caused by a high-grade glioma in January, helped the Royal Marsden team test and calibrate the imaging equipment. of the machine earlier this month.

He did not undergo radiation therapy during the test, but full trials in pediatric patients with upper abdominal glioma and high grade glioma are expected to begin in 2020.

Alex, a Tottenham fan, who was diagnosed with a high-grade glioma brain tumor in January, helped the Royal Marsden team test and calibrate the imaging equipment of the machine.

Barry Dolling, 65, a prostate cancer patient in the UK, became the first UK patient to receive revolutionary radiation treatment last September.

Since then, 12 more have been treated and a new clinical trial for patients with rectal cancer was opened last month.

Steve Burchell of Surrey said his son Alex "loved being scanned" and jumped on the opportunity to participate.

Steve Burchell of Surrey said his son Alex "loved being scanned" and jumped on the opportunity to participate.

"He was too happy to help MR Linac's team to test the scanned portion of the machine," Burchell said.

"It's great to think that he's helping patients like him to be treated on this machine. I can not believe he's the first kid in the UK to use a machine like this.

Dr. Henry Mandeville, clinical oncology consultant at Royal Marsden, said, "Advanced imaging of magnetic resonance linac allows the acquisition of high quality magnetic resonance imaging before, during and after after radiotherapy.

Alex did not undergo radiation therapy during the test, but full trials in pediatric patients with upper abdominal glioma and high-grade glioma are expected to begin in 2020.

& # 39; This imaging is far superior to that available for standard linear accelerators or for proton therapy. It could in the future facilitate the daily adaptation of radiotherapy plans, which would improve the accuracy of radiotherapy administration and seek to reduce adjacent organs at risk.

"It also means that there will also be less exposure to radiation from imaging during radiotherapy."