LIGHT system potential in delivering FLASH

RNS Number : 0219L

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC

11 May 2022

 

Reach non-regulatory announcement

11 May 2022

ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC

("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")

Scientific publications highlight potential of LIGHT system in effectively delivering FLASH radiotherapy

Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM:AVO), the developer of LIGHT, the next-generation proton therapy system for cancer treatment, notes the recent publication of two papers showcasing the potential superiority of the LIGHT system, over other existing proton therapy systems, in the delivery of FLASH.

In the first paper titled "Ultra-high dose rate radiation production and delivery systems intended for FLASH"¹ written by Jonathan Farr, Chief Clinical Officer at the Company, and his co-authors, the LIGHT system was assessed and it has been shown that it is ideally positioned to deliver FLASH, as it is a 'pulsed system' sending out up to 500 million protons in each burst, at 200 times per second. The number of particles per pulse has been noted as a critical FLASH parameter for other (electron) systems, and now it is becoming available from LIGHT for proton FLASH treatments.

In the second paper titled "Treatment planning for FLASH radiotherapy: General aspects and applications to proton beams"², Anna Kolano, a Medical Physicist at the Company, and her co-authors highlight the applicability of FLASH in patient treatment. FLASH proton therapy is currently administered clinically with "Shoot-Through FLASH Beams", analogous to X-rays, as legacy proton systems require thick physical beam absorbers to achieve the lower energies required for patient treatment. However, the LIGHT system, which produces all energies electronically, is designed to deliver FLASH treatments anywhere in the human body. Hence, the LIGHT FLASH plan for "Conformal Scanned FLASH Beams" is conceptually superior to the Shoot-Through method.

Dr Jonathan Farr, Chief Clinical Officer at Advanced Oncotherapy said:

"The results published showcase the potential superiority of the LIGHT system for delivering FLASH radiotherapy. FLASH proton therapy provides the potential to change clinical practice and improve patient outcomes, as it could see patients treated in a single session with significantly reduced normal tissue toxicity burden post-treatment, and the Company's LIGHT system is ideally positioned to deliver it. There is an urgent need to treat more cancer patients while reducing the toxicity burden, which can damage healthy tissue, associated with legacy radiation therapy systems."

Notes

1- Farr, J, Grilj, V, Malka, V, Sudharsan, S, Schippers, M. Ultra-High dose rate radiation production and delivery systems intended for FLASH. Med Phys 2022; 00 1- 37. https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.15659

2- Schwarz, M, Traneus, E, Safai, S, Kolano, A, van de Water, S. Treatment planning for FLASH radiotherapy: General aspects and applications to proton beams. Med Phys. 2022; 49: 2861- 2874. https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.15579

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About FLASH radiotherapy

FLASH radiotherapy, in which ultra-high radiation doses, several orders of magnitude higher than that currently used in conventional clinical radiotherapy, are delivered in fractions of a second, offers the potential to treat cancer patients in a single visit, rather than up to 30 visits with conventional radiation therapy, and has the potential to revolutionise the future of cancer treatment.

About Advanced Oncotherapy Plc

Advanced Oncotherapy, a UK headquartered company with offices in London, Geneva, The Netherlands and in the USA, is a provider of particle therapy with protons that harnesses the best in modern technology. Advanced Oncotherapy's team "ADAM," based in Geneva, focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator called, Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology (LIGHT). LIGHT's compact configuration delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates greater precision and electronic control.

Advanced Oncotherapy will offer healthcare providers affordable systems that will enable them to treat cancer with innovative technology as well as expected lower treatment-related side effects.

Advanced Oncotherapy continually monitors the market for any emerging improvements in delivering proton therapy and actively seeks working relationships with providers of these innovative technologies. Through these relationships, the Company will remain the prime provider of an innovative and cost-effective system for particle therapy with protons.

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