A CUTTING edge radiotherapy treatment is to be offered to early stage lung cancer patients as part of a clinical trial taking place in the region.

Patients from Middlesbrough will be recruited for the £240,000 trial and join others from Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester and Bradford.

It will use stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, or SABR for short, that uses high dose accurately focused radiotherapy beams to treat the cancer over three to eight treatments.

The aim is to compare its effectiveness with more invasive surgery. Research in the US, based on a small study group, suggests survival rates are higher with SABR which has fewer side effects and allows patients to remain awake during treatment.

It also causes less damage to surrounding healthy tissue than conventional radiotherapy.

The clinical trial is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research and is supported by the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre.

The North-East has the worst lung cancer record of anywhere in the UK with 107.8 cases of the disease per 100,000 population, compared to 76 cases in England as a whole.

In Middlesbrough the incidence of lung cancer is even higher – 134.2 cases per 100,000 population – with smoking the number one cause of the disease.

Dr Kevin Franks, from the University of Leeds, who is leading the clinical trial, said: “Lung cancer survival rates in the UK are worse than in European and North American countries. We want to change this.

“Lung cancer diagnosed at an early stage is curable and surgery is considered the best treatment for fit patients. However, many patients diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK are either more elderly, or have other illnesses, which can increase the risk of having surgery.

“This form of radiotherapy may be an alternative treatment for some of these high risk patients, but this needs to be formally assessed.”

Last month it was announced that the South Tees NHS Hospital Trust would become one of 17 centres allowing patients to access SABR treatment.

It has now delivered SABR to 200 patients to treat tumours in the chest and is extending that to treat oligometastatic tumours – cancer that has spread to less than five other sites within the body.

A Trust spokeswoman said: “We’re very excited to be involved in this important piece of work and to offer this opportunity to local patients.”

Sue Perkin, head of public health in Middlesbrough, said it was working with partners to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung and other cancers.