The Potential Benefits of Treating Lung Cancer with Radiotherapy in the Upright Position

Leo Cancer Care is dedicated to finding a more human way to deliver radiation therapy, focusing on optimizing treatment delivery through upright patient positioning.

Conventional radiotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer commonly requires the patient to lie down on their back, while the radiation rotates around them. Patients can sometimes find this challenging as breathing can be more laborious and they might suffer from shortness of breath. This can be due to side effects of the disease and the negative impact of gravity and decreased lung volume in this position.

Because clinicians know the lung moves during treatment as we breathe in and out, treatment plans are created with a larger target margin to make sure the tumor stays within the target area despite this extra movement.

In 2013, a team from the MD Anderson Cancer Center published a paper comparing lung volume and respiratory motion in supine and upright positions.  Data from this article highlighted the potential benefits of treating lung cancer patients in the upright orientation and it is what inspired us to create our upright radiation therapy products.

The study suggested that in the upright orientation, lung volume was on average 25% larger but in some cases up to 50% larger. This paper went on to show that the increased lung volume suggested a reduction in breathing motion, due to the tidal volume of air being less with each breath.

In radiation therapy, less motion may allow clinicians to challenge the current treatment margins. This particular study showed that lung movement was on average up to 5mm less in the upright orientation. We believe that the increased lung volume and potentially reduced motion will help improve treatment efficiency, minimise target ranges and potentially reduce irradiation to healthy tissue.

Leo Cancer Care is determined to improve treatment efficiency through upright radiotherapy whilst making patients feel more comfortable and more in control during treatment. Recent feedback from a trial on our solution indicated 100% of patients were comfortable breathing upright compared to 87% whilst lying down. This promising insight drives us forward to make upright radiotherapy a choice for cancer patients in the future.

Watch our explainer video here:

Please Note: The Leo Cancer Care technology is not commercially available and will not treat patients until the required regulatory approval has been achieved.