The BC Cancer Foundation is conducting a trial at BC Cancer Victoria to reduce prostate cancer radiation therapy visits from five to two, starting in Dec. 2024.
B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 overstate how much progress has been made,B次元官网网址 said Doctor Abraham Alexander, a radiation oncologist at BC Cancer Victoria. B次元官网网址淚t really is fantastic to see.B次元官网网址
In AlexanderB次元官网网址檚 18 years at BC Cancer, a lot of progress has been made in cancer diagnosis, and the treatment options for even the most dangerous have improved.
B次元官网网址淧eople, particularly with prostate cancer, and melanoma, lung cancer, survival rates, are just so much better,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淲hen I started, you know, people with melanoma that spread often didnB次元官网网址檛 live very long, with survival rates of like a year.B次元官网网址
BC Cancer had completed research that initially saw the number of visits for chemo from over 20 to five, according to Alexander.
B次元官网网址淲e were able to give the treatment in five treatments with as little or even fewer side effects as the standard treatment,B次元官网网址 he said.
The new trial will run for eight years, and according to Alexander, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the latest research.
B次元官网网址淢any of these patients, with our advanced treatments, live five or 10 years more.B次元官网网址
Alexander works alongside a team of six oncologists, two or three medical physicists, 10 radiation therapists and four or five nurses at BC Cancer Victoria.
B次元官网网址淚t ends up being quite a large team because it takes a lot of expertise and different disciplines to deliver these treatments.B次元官网网址
AlexanderB次元官网网址檚 research was only possible with community engagement, and he said he is fortunate to have the support he has in Victoria.
The trials are randomized, and patients undergoing standard treatments can be allowed to participate in the clinical trials offered by BC Cancer.
B次元官网网址淲e couldnB次元官网网址檛 make our humans better without people enrolling in trials, and clinical trials are a really important part of what we do,B次元官网网址 he said.
Part of the research saw BC Cancer incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) that would allow researchers to assess the amount of radiation that is being delivered into the body, Alexander said.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e hoping by applying AI to target the radiation better, weB次元官网网址檒l be able to, you know, further reduce the side effects of the treatment.B次元官网网址
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