Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SABR)

SABR uses ultra-high dose radiotherapy to kill the all cancer cells in the target area. It is effectively the same as a surgeon removing a tumour they see. SABR can be used in any part of the body and for multiple tumours at the same time. SABR can help people live longer and live with better quality of life in their fight against cancer.

Gamma Knife Radiotherapy

Gamma Knife is a radiotherapy machine dedicated to the treatment of small tumours in the brain. The Gamma Knife controls the release of radiation from almost 200 radiation sources. When a frame is used, it is capable of delivering brain SABR in a single treatment (Radiosurgery or SRS) with an accuracy under a mm.

CyberKnife Radiotherapy

CyberKnife is a radiotherapy machine dedicated to delivering SABR or SRS for tumours in any part of the body. Using a robotic arm, it can move the radiotherapy beam in any direction and follow tumours as they move in a person’s body. To achieve this, it sometimes requires a marker to be inserted into or near the tumour.

Proton Radiotherapy

Proton therapy uses a proton beam instead of an x-ray beam to deliver radiotherapy. It similarly aims to kill every cancer cells in a target area and is typically uses a longer course of treatment rather than SABR or SRS. For certain people Proton radiotherapy can allow higher doses to their tumour and/or lower doses to their surrounding normal cells.

A/Prof Sasha Senthi

A/Prof Senthi is an internationally recognised expert in the use of Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SABR). After his initial specialist training at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre he undertook a Clinical Research Fellowship in the VU University, Amsterdam. There he published multiple SABR research articles which had not been described before. For his work on SABR he awarded his PhD (2014).

When A/Prof Senthi returned to Melbourne he took appointments as Oncologist at The Alfred and Monash University. Since then he has been awarded more than 4 million dollars in research grants and an unrestricted scholarship to complete a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University (2017). A/Prof Senthi now co-leads a laboratory exploring the interaction between SABR and immunotherapy. He is the lead Australian investigator in an international collaboration that first showed SABR can help Stage IV cancer patients live longer and maintain their quality of life.

The Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology (TROG) Research Group is the key body governing radiotherapy related research in Australia and New Zealand. A/Prof Senthi is the chair of the Scientific Committee.

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