MORE cancer patients who need to undergo radiation treatment can expect fewer side effects like dry mouth, diarrhoea and nausea.

Three new radiation machines to be brought in by the National University Cancer Institute (NCIS) will be able to deliver radiation more precisely to a cancerous area, which will minimise damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.

This will result in fewer side effects.

For example, a patient who has a cancerous tumour in the stomach area will feel less nausea with treatment using the new machine, than if he undergoes treatment on the institute’s existing machines, said Assistant Professor Jay Lu, head and senior consultant of NCIS’ department of radiation oncology.

NCIS currently houses two radiation machines which will be replaced by the new machines by the end of the year.

Construction of a third bunker to house the additional machine was completed last month. The three new machines and bunker cost $11.5 million.

Similar technology has been used by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) since 2008.

The new machine allows its radiation beams to approximate the shape of the tumour, so it is more precise than existing machines which irradiate the entire area where the tumour is.

The new machine also produces images of better quality – computed tomography (CT) scan images – to show the size and the position of the tumour. Conventional machines use X-rays to do so.

Dr Yap Swee Peng, a consultant at NCCS’ department of radiation oncology, said that the images of the tumour from the new technology will give “very clear visualisation” to the physician, who can then better treat the affected area.

The dosage to non-cancerous areas can be better controlled as well, and all these translate into better treatment control, she added.

The new machine is also able to cut treatment time, typically eight to 12 minutes, by at least half, said Dr Lu.

The shorter treatment time, together with the additional machine, means NCIS will be able to treat more patients.

Currently, it sees about 850 patients who require radiation therapy each year, making up about 60 per cent of its total number of cancer patients.
 
With the new machines, it could see up to four times more patients who need radiation therapy, Dr Lu said.

“An ageing population and more effective cancer screenings will mean a larger number of patients diagnosed and those diagnosed in the early stages will be the first ones to benefit from these new technologies,” he said.