Radiotherapy uses radiation to treat cancer, and is used as part of the treatment of approximately 80% of patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Advances in technology have considerably improved the chances of patients surviving their cancer. However, in up to 40% of patients with head and neck cancer, the tumour will come back or a new tumour will appear in the regions already treated. Treatment of these recurrences using radiotherapy is very challenging because delivering extra radiation in regions that have already been irradiated is often associated with strong, and even fatal, side effects. Currently, doctors cannot confidently recommend re-irradiation, primarily because there are no tools to properly account for previous radiation treatments. However, it has been shown that when patients are properly selected, this treatment dramatically improves the chances of survival and can even offer cure (allowing patients to survive years rather than months).
This project will target this unmet need in radiotherapy planning, by developing novel methods to:
1) map the radiation received in previous treatments to the current anatomy of the patient,
2) quantify and model the impact of uncertainties of the mapping procedure, and
3) include these and other uncertainties in re-irradiation planning.
These methods will be implemented in a commercially available treatment planning software to ease translation to clinical practice, and validated in an independent group of head and neck patients. The results from this work will pave the path to dramatically improve access to a potentially curative treatment which could be the last chance for many patients.
This project will benefit from strong collaboration links with other active researchers within the RRR group (Dr Andrew Green and Dr Azadeh Abravan) and head and neck clinicians at the Christie (including Dr James Price and Dr. Andrew McPartlin).
Entry Requirements
Candidates must hold, or be about to obtain, a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in a relevant subject. A related master's degree would be an advantage.
How to Apply
To be considered for this project you MUST submit a formal online application form. Details of how to apply are available here (https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/funded-programmes/mcrc-training-scheme/apply/). For Visa requirements, international candidates must select the full-time study option.
General enquiries can be directed to [Email Address Removed].
Interviews: Week commencing 10 January 2022
Commencement: October 2022
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester and is at the heart of all of our activities. The full Equality, diversity and inclusion statement can be found on the website https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/apply/equality-diversity-inclusion/
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