New treatment “Ray” pilot!

[RunningViv]

Hi, has anyone heard of a new treatment called Ray pilot which only targets cancer cells and is very affective with very few side affects - apparently not every cancer is suitable for this treatment but it is if contained within the prostate? I have no more details than that?

research.manchester.ac.uk/p...

[Tall_Allen]

Radiation only targets cancer cells.

[RunningViv in reply to Tall_Allen]

Hi, apologies for my lack of knowledge - my husband has only very recently been diagnosed and I’m still getting up to speed with terminology This procedure was described as being revolutionary whilst affording very few side affects to the recipient- I’ve attached a paper FYI and would welcome your views!

research.manchester.ac.uk/p...

[Tall_Allen in reply to RunningViv]

Electromagnetic transponders have been used for image guidance for radiation delivery for many years. They have been tested against fiducials, which is the most commonly used method. They found no difference:

redjournal.org/article/S036...

I know Alison Tree at the Royal Marsden likes her new Elekta Unity platform. It doesn't rely on anything being implanted (transponder or fiducial marker) but instead the X-ray beams are guided by MRI. I highly recommend using her for treatment if you can.

[RunningViv in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you for replying. We/my hubby is swaying towards RP given his age (59) and aggression (G9) and because he has locally advanced PC (been advised nerves on both sides need removing) but mainly because of longer term cancer risks.

[Tall_Allen in reply to RunningViv]

I have no idea what you mean by "given his age (59) and aggression (G9)and because he has locally advanced PC (been advised nerves on both sides need removing) but mainly because of longer term cancer risks." None of that makes sense to me.

I was treated at 57 with SBRT. The best results for higher grade disease, especially if you know it has already penetrated the capsule, are historically with radiation.

Your first step is to get a PSMA PET/CT to check that there aren't any distant metastases. If you can't get that in the UK, at least he should get a bone scan/CT. If that is clear, his best odds are with whole pelvic radiation. In the POP-RT trial, below, 95% of the men were cured:

prostatecancer.news/2021/08...

You can increase the odds even more by using 2 years of abiraterone with it, as in this STAMPEDE trial:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The odds of a second primary tumor due to radiation are less than 1%, if that is what you are worried about. The odds of dying during surgery are about the same.

thegreenjournal.com/article...

[tango65]

It is not a new treatment is a tracker to inform the radiation equipment (linear accelerator) the position of the prostate at any time during treatment allowing the radiation to be given more precisely, so they say.

micropos.se/patients/treatm....

[RunningViv in reply to tango65]

Hi! Thank you for replying - so presumably the side affects are reduced simply because the tracker is more accurate and reduces nerve etc damage, rather than it being a new pioneering treatment? ☹️

[tango65 in reply to RunningViv]

Yes, the treatment is the radiation, this system seems to make it more precise.

[RunningViv in reply to tango65]

thank you 👍