ViewRay, the GenesisCare Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Work Together to Provide MRIdian Radiation Therapy at No Cost to NHS Pancreatic Cancer Patients
CLEVELAND, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ –– ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY) announced today that the GenesisCare Foundation’s Compassionate Access Programme is now accepting patients for treatment on the MRIdian® MRI-Guided Radiation Therapy System. The program, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is available to eligible National Health Service (NHS) patients with localized pancreatic cancer and is designed to improve access to precision radiotherapy in the United Kingdom, where patients have variable access to this innovative treatment. This is particularly relevant for patients as the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the availability and safety of surgery and chemotherapy.
Eligible NHS patients who have medically inoperable, borderline operable, locally advanced and locally recurrent pancreatic cancer will be treated at GenesisCare’s center in Oxford using stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) on the U.K.’s first MRIdian machine free of charge. In addition, UK charity, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund is providing support for the cost of travel or accommodations associated with treatment.
Unlike conventional radiation therapy systems, MRIdian combines an MRI scanner with the radiation therapy system. This feature, together with other technical innovations, offers advantages for the delivery of safe and effective radiotherapy. These include the ability to see the tumor and surrounding tissue before and during treatment, allowing to adapt the therapy in response to changes in patient anatomy and tumor size between treatments, and to continuously track the tumor in real-time during treatment and pause the radiation if the tumor moves out of position. As a result, the system can deliver very high ablative radiation doses to the tumor while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue from damage.
Patients will be cared for on MRIdian using SABR techniques, also known as MRIdian SMART therapy, which deliver a high dose of radiation just to the tumor. The course of treatment is typically five daily sessions.
“MRIdian is at the cutting-edge of what is possible in radiotherapy technology. The ability to visualize the tumor more accurately, to follow it while it’s being treated and to adapt the plan every day means we can deliver the best possible outcomes,” said Dr. James Good, Clinical Oncologist and Clinical Director of SABR at GenesisCare. “Patients with localized pancreatic cancer have variable access to precision radiotherapy, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have been further disadvantaged by the reduced availability and safety of surgery and chemotherapy. The Compassionate Access Programme has two significant purposes. Firstly, to provide patients who otherwise would have limited, or sadly, no options with a viable treatment option. Secondly, to help demonstrate the effectiveness of this treatment, with the ambition to make it available for all patients in the future.”
“We are thrilled to support this ground-breaking program, working with GenesisCare and the University of Oxford,” said Dr. Martin Fuss, Chief Medical Officer at ViewRay. “Facilitating pancreatic cancer patient access to the MRIdian SMART therapy provides a safe and effective treatment for this deadly disease and the hope for longer survival for patients in the U.K.”
The program is made possible through charitable funding from the GenesisCare Foundation, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund and ViewRay, the manufacturer of the MRIdian system. The initiative is also supported by a team of expert clinicians and the University of Oxford, who share a commitment to expanding the role of MRI-guided radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer through clinical trials.
More information about the program, eligibility criteria and paperwork to refer patients can be found here.
Currently 38 MRIdian systems are installed at hospitals around the world, where they have treated nearly 10,000 patients with a wide variety of solid tumors. MRIdian is also the focus of numerous ongoing research efforts and has been the subject of hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, scientific meeting abstracts and presentations. For a list of treatment centers, click here.
