RESEARCH CONSORTIUM AIMS TO BRING NEW UPRIGHT PHOTON RADIATION THERAPY DELIVERY SYSTEM TO THE WORLD STAGE

Leo Cancer Care unveils plans to create a unique research group consisting of global healthcare providers to include Centre Léon Bérard, Cone Health, IHH Healthcare, Mayo Clinic and OncoRay. This group will embark on a new research collaboration covering the company’s latest photon therapy product, dedicated to challenging the norms of conventional radiotherapy for cancer patients worldwide.

Innovative radiotherapy equipment manufacturer, Leo Cancer Care, has brought together leading healthcare systems from across the globe to form a diverse upright photon consortium, to help it develop a new product for the delivery of photon radiation treatment.

The new consortium, known as the ‘Upright Photon Alliance’, is unique in that it has membership comprised not just of large cutting-edge academic research centers, but also community-based and global healthcare groups. At the heart of this alliance is a shared passion and dedication to the end-users of the product – patients with cancer. This forms the foundation for why this group of pioneers are known as an alliance and not just a consortium. Their shared qualities, drive and ambitions strengthen the work that they do together with their united goal to deliver better care and outcomes to patients.

It was announced in September at the end of the annual meeting of ASTRO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, held in Washington DC, that these well-known organizations have agreed to join the Alliance and become Leo Cancer Care research collaborators.

The institutions provisionally involved are the France-based academic institution dedicated solely to cancer care, Centre Léon Bérard, US-based healthcare network, Cone Health, one of the world’s largest private healthcare providers, IHH Healthcare, US-based hospital group, Mayo Clinic and Germany-based Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, OncoRay.

A UNIQUE MEMBERSHIP

Leo Cancer Care’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Towe, said: “There has never been a coming together of such a diverse group of high-profile collaborators that bring such different strengths to this research and development collaboration.”

“This really points to what we are trying to do. To usher in a new era of radiotherapy with new capabilities that we believe will drive new clinical utilization. The intent is to also deliver a platform capable of pushing the boundaries of clinical capabilities but develop it in a way that allows us to take that solution to countries it has never been before.”

“I believe that has never really been a driver behind any new innovation in radiation therapy. It’s always been about additive innovation-adding more functionality to drive change, but this approach of simplifying the platform first means we can take new technology to a global stage.”

Leo Cancer Care is dedicated to a ‘more human’ way to deliver radiation therapy through its world-class radiation solutions aimed at patient comfort and efficient treatment delivery.

The company has been built on research showing the clinical benefit of upright patient positioning combined with a shift from machine rotation to patient rotation to make radiation therapy more accessible.

Earlier this year, the company received regulatory 510k clearance in the US for its Eve™️ patient positioning system. Eve™ sits at the very center of Leo Cancer Care’s upright linear accelerator and is vital in ensuring that this technology is patient-centric in every sense of the word.

USER READY GOAL

While Leo Cancer Care has spent the last few years developing the upright technology for the use of the more precision-targeted radiation therapy using protons, it is now turning its attention to providing a solution for photon beam therapy – the most common type of radiation therapy in use today.

Joining Leo Cancer Care in this transition from protons to photons is world leading radiation therapy software company, RaySearch Laboratories, who continue to show their support by helping to facilitate areas of research being undertaken by the Alliance members utilizing both Raystation and Raycare software.
Leo Cancer Care also welcomes the continued support and expertise of clinical trials partner, Tecnologie Avanzate during this exciting transformation period.

“Our goal with this new product is to successfully introduce it to the already established market of photon therapy, the mainstay of radiotherapy and which is already treating countless patients every year,” explained Towe.

“I hope together we can achieve introducing a new technology in a seamless fashion so that the transition from development into clinical utilization means it can be up and running for patients from the get-go.”

UPRIGHT HERE TO STAY

Over the past six years, Leo Cancer Care has worked hard at spreading the message of the many benefits of treating patients in the upright position.

It has amplified the patients’ voices around preference and comfort, collated clinical data supporting having patients in the upright position and continued to prove the health economic value proposition around fixed beam radiotherapy.

Rock Mackie, Co-Founder of Leo Cancer Care explains, “Modern radiotherapy has been transformed by 3D imaging techniques but commonly utilized modalities such as CT have all been designed for laying down which is not empowering, is difficult for communication, uncomfortable and impossible for some patients with serious breathing problems. The vast majority of patients walk into a clinic and sit down in a waiting room and then walk into the treatment room. This alliance will also investigate the human factors and access to care for patients by being scanned and treated upright.”

Towe concluded: “I think what this alliance shows is the message resonates with the market, patients, therapists, physicists and oncologists. Plus, the level of interest from the caliber of healthcare groups interested in this alliance is a sure sign that upright is respected and here to stay.”

Here is what our collaborators have to say about joining the Upright Photon Alliance:

Prof. Vincent Grégoire from Centre Léon Bérard expressed these sentiments, “More than one century after the first cancer treatment with ionizing radiation, we are writing a new chapter in the history of radiotherapy with the development of treatments in an upright position. It’s an exciting time to collect evidence supporting such a move, which should enable us to offer state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatments to many more patients worldwide”.

Dr. Benjamin Sintay, Executive Director of Radiation Oncology and chief physicist at Cone Health said, “Cone Health is thrilled to join the Leo Cancer Care’s “Upright Photon Alliance” and bring our unique perspective as a community-based, non-profit healthcare organization to the table. As strong advocates of delivering exceptional value-based care, our involvement underscores the importance of diverse healthcare models in the development of cutting-edge technologies. We look forward to contributing to this groundbreaking collaboration and ensuring that the needs of the broader community are represented in the future of cancer care.”

Elizabeth Han, IHH Healthcare’s Group Head of Innovation and Transformation, stated, “The Upright Photon Alliance underscores our steadfast commitment at IHH to transforming and elevating patient care through innovation. This new approach to photon radiation treatment marks a groundbreaking advancement in cancer care and has the potential to benefit patients across our markets. As the only healthcare provider in Asia to be part of this Alliance, we are proud to lead the way in improving patient care, access, and experience.”

Brad Hoppe, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Medical Director of Particle Therapy at Mayo Clinic shared, “Mayo Clinic is excited about the opportunity to participate within this Alliance, especially as it pertains to identifying the patients that benefit the most from the upright position, optimizing efficiency of treating patients, and integrating real time adaptive treatments.”

Prof. Esther Troost of OncoRay and Technische Universität Dresden said, “Leo Cancer Care’s photon technology will enable treatment planning, position verification and treatment in a novel posture, which will be more convenient to frail patients and is expected to reduce organ movement. OncoRay is excited to be part of this endeavor, paving the way to new concepts”.