UCLA Researchers Receive $2M Grant to Study MRI-Guided Cancer Radiation Therapy

A grant of $2 million has been awarded to UCLA Health by a for-profit company, ViewRay Systems. The purpose of this grant is to enable the university to accelerate its research efforts in finding ways in which MRI-guided radiation therapy can be leveraged to provide targeted treatment to cancer patients. 

Cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, are known to impact both diseased and healthy tissues. The impact on healthy tissue causes a variety of side effects, such as hair loss and weight loss, which can affect the health and quality of life of patients. Efforts have therefore been made to find ways in which to concentrate as much of the treatment on cancer tissue while limiting the exposure of healthy tissues to radiation and chemotherapy. 

The grant awarded to UCLA Health is geared at studying ways in which MRI images can be used to precisely guide where radiation is directed in real time so that course correction can be quickly effected once changes in the target tumor or anatomy of the patient are detected. 

Doctor Amar Kishan, a radiation oncology professor at UCLA, explains that using magnetic resonance imaging to guide where radiation is targeted is an advanced treatment approach that promises to deliver many benefits to treatment teams and patients. Research into this field is ongoing because traditionally, MRI hasn’t been an option during radiotherapy because the magnetic fields created while an MRI is being conducted have an unwanted effect on the platform being used to conduct radiotherapy. 

To fix this challenge, specialized linear accelerators have been developed to leverage MRI technology during the delivery of radiation to a target site. 

Doctor Kishan explains that MRI technology offers many benefits over other imaging techniques, such as CT scans, that have previously been relied upon during radiotherapy. For example, MRIs provide clearer imaging and contrast between tissues within the body, which makes it easier to effectively track how treatment is being delivered. 

Secondly, MRIs make it possible to track treatment delivery in real time, which isn’t possible with CT scans. With this grant, UCLA plans to conduct trials aimed at showing how best this MRI-guided treatment approach can be used in the treatment of different cancer types since many specialists can work together to directly monitor the radiotherapy as it is being administered and make any needed adjustments while the patient is receiving the treatment, rather than waiting to conduct reviews after a session. 

This $2m grant is just one example of funding that is going into seeking ways to improve how cancer is treated. Many other companies like Soligenix Inc. (NASDAQ: SNGX) are also directing considerable resources towards developing a new range of treatments to offer better clinical outcomes to patients. 

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