Personalised radiotherapy to improve outcomes for men

What you need to know 

• Radiotherapy can be a very effective treatment for men with early-stage prostate cancer, but some men see their cancer return and many experience long term side effects.
• Dr Alan McWilliam and his team will use artificial intelligence to analyse data from men previously treated for prostate cancer to understand how radiotherapy can be better targeted to improve disease control whilst minimising side effects.
• This will lead to more personalised treatment that should improve the cure rate and reduce the side effects of radiotherapy.

Improving our knowledge of radiotherapy 

Radiotherapy uses ionising radiation, typically high-energy x-rays, that kills the cancer cells after several doses. For men with localised prostate cancer, radiotherapy can be part of an effective treatment plan. However, not all men are cured with radiotherapy and some experience long-term side effects, even if cured. 

Dr McWilliam and his team will use data from men previously treated for prostate cancer to understand how radiotherapy can be better targeted to maximise the chance of a cure and minimise the risk of side effects.

Analysing data to create personalised treatment plans

In previous work funded by us, the team successfully developed a model that tells doctors how they can optimise radiotherapy to reduce side effects and cancer recurrence. 

Current methods use several indicators to predict the outcome of radiotherapy. However, there are other factors that are also important in evaluating the success of treatment, most notably the size and location of the tumour, the amount of radiation that reaches the cancer, as well as the genetic characteristics of each man and his cancer. 

By combining this data and harnessing the use of artificial intelligence, the team will develop a tool that can better personalise radiotherapy treatment to each individual man. This will improve the effectiveness of treatment while also reducing the side effects.

Further testing in a clinical trial

By the end of the project, the team will have a greater understanding of the key factors that influence radiotherapy outcomes, and a better method of designing more accurate and effective treatment plans.

The team’s work on this project is key to unlocking advances in personalised radiotherapy treatment. The next step after this project will be to test this method in a large-scale clinical trial.

Grant information

Reference – MA-CT20-007    

Researcher – Dr Alan McWilliam

Institution – University of Manchester 

Award - £346,085