(Image: Dr. Alex Batty, via Clatterbridge Cancer Centre)
Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has recently closed a study collecting data from 2,232 patients, based around the use of artifical intelligence to analyse the data and provide more effective treatment for high-risk prostate cancer.
The study by Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC) aims to improve patient outcomes for prostate cancer by giving clinicians more information and confidence in conducting life-saving treatment.
Building on research from the Netherlands from 2005-2008, the PIVOTALboost study is evaluating whether radiotherapy treatments for prostate cancer can be reduced from an eight-week timescale down to just a four-week schedule.
Now, researchers are applying an AI algorithm to MRI scans from PIVOTALboost trial participants, starting with those treated at the CCC and the Royal Marsden Hospital, their partner in the Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) collaboration.
A 'boost' to radiotherapy treatment
Netherlands’ FLAME study, which began almost two decades ago, found that an added “boost” dose of radiotherapy to the tumour nodule in the prostate reduced relapse rates and secondary cancers without significantly increasing side effects.
However, the study showed variability in how clinicians pinpointed tumour areas to target the boost dose.
Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s PIVOTALboost study is now seeking to discover whether the boost dose can be beneficial in a shorter, four-week radiotherapy schedule – half the time of the FLAME study’s eight-week course.
Dr Alex Batty, a clinical fellow at Clatterbridge funded by the BRC and Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, is leading efforts to integrate this algorithm into the PIVOTALboost trial analysis.
He said: “Our research focuses on using AI to standardise and refine how we deliver this boost dose of radiotherapy. The outcome could improve clinicians’ confidence in targeting specific areas of the prostate and ultimately make treatment more effective.
“If the outcomes align with the FLAME trial, we could see a significant shift in prostate cancer treatment standards. AI tools like this could streamline workflows, save time, and improve patient outcomes.”
Impact across the globe
(Image: Dr. Isabel Syndikus, via Clatterbridge Cancer Centre)
Preliminary findings suggest that AI-driven contouring could reduce inconsistencies observed in the FLAME trial, where there was a 20 per cent disagreement between clinicians’ interpretations and the algorithm’s suggestions.
Professor Isabel Syndikus, a CCC consultant oncologist and chief investigator in the project, emphasised the importance of validating the AI tool across different UK hospital sites.
“With 49 trial centres using varied MRI scanners, importing and analysing the imaging data in this research is a major challenge,” she said. “But if we are successful, doing this will establish a robust and validated AI programme to assist clinicians in delivering prostate boost protocols with greater accuracy.
“Standardising this process could ensure that patients across the globe receive high-quality, evidence-based care.”
The analysis of the PIVOTALboost trial is a collaboration between CCC, which acts as sponsor, and the Clinical Trials Unit at The Royal Marsden, through the BRC. CCC is an associate partner in the National Institute of Health Research-funded BRC, awarded to The Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research.
Dr Gillian Heap, CCC’s Director of Research and Innovation Operations, said: “This collaboration bridges innovative technology with clinical practice and shows how important partnerships are in cancer research. If successful, this study will bring us closer to ensuring that every prostate cancer patient receives the best possible treatment for their disease.”