Turkish hospital launches MR-guided radiotherapy program with Elekta Unity MR-Linac

Clinicians at Başkent University Ankara Hospital begin first patient treatment

On July 6, a 68-year-old man with prostate cancer became Turkey’s first patient to receive radiation therapy delivered by Başkent University Ankara Hospital’s Elekta Unity MR-Linac. The patient – a rectal cancer survivor – had five stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) sessions, each just 35 minutes long.

According to Prof. Cem Onal, MD, Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Başkent University, Elekta Unity provided exquisite visualization of internal organs and the disease target, in addition to the ability to monitor prostate motion in real time during therapy delivery. These advantages helped better spare the patient’s rectum and bladder and maximize the dose to the prostate.

“Our aim is to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy while reducing its side effects and Elekta Unity helps us achieve both of those goals,” Prof. Onal says. “Moreover, this technology will drive a paradigm shift from longer treatment sessions to shorter ones and more precise radiation delivery. The ability to see the target and its motion during and between treatments means we can also modify successive treatment plans to account for changes in the cancer target.”

Habib Nehme, Elekta’s Executive Vice President, Turkey, India, Middle East and Africa, says: “Başkent University, under the leadership of Professor Mehmet Haberal, has always been an early adopter of the most innovative technology in cancer treatment. By acquiring and installing the first Elekta Unity MR-Linac in this region, it demonstrates once again its focus on precision radiation medicine. Unity will allow Başkent University to expand its range of techniques such as radiosurgery and SBRT, leap frogging into real-time image-guided radiotherapy.” Habib adds: “With almost a quarter of a million new cancer diagnoses each year, and a shortage of linear accelerators, I am sure that more of Turkey’s hospitals and cancer clinics will share Başkent University Ankara Hospital’s ambitions.”

Elekta Unity is a state-of-the art MR-Linac that is defining a new standard for personalized radiation therapy based on real-time high resolution anatomical and biological MRI at the point-of-care. Unity combines a Philips high-field 1.5T MRI scanner with a best-in-class 7MV linear accelerator and breakthrough online dose replanning software that are fully integrated to enable adaptive radiotherapy and real-time target monitoring.