Daily anatomy shifts are real
Up to 90% of adapted fractions need plan changes in prostate and pancreas cases.1
Adaptive Radiotherapy
The new standard of care
For more than 50 years, Elekta has advanced precision in cancer care. Now we’re leading the way in making adaptive radiotherapy a practical standard of care for clinics everywhere.
What is Adaptive Radiotherapy?
Adaptive Radiotherapy (also known as ART or Adaptive Radiation Therapy) adjusts treatment to each patient’s unique anatomy and response.
At Elekta, in collaboration with our clinical partners we're delivering both CT and MR imaging with intelligent workflows, real-time decision support, and precise dose delivery—so you can adapt treatment with confidence.
There are two main ways of adapting treatment plans—whilst the patient is on the bed (Online) or between treatment sessions (Offline). Both allow clinicians to deliver radiation more precisely whilst taking into account for daily changes in anatomy, tumor position, or organ motion.
Online Adaptive therapy
Plan recalculation to account for changes between the approved plan and the patient’s current anatomy or delivered dose, while the patient is on the treatment table.
Offline adaptive therapy
Plan recalculation between fractions (interfraction), based on imaging and clinical review from an earlier session. Also called re-planning.
Adaptive is more than technology—it’s a way of rethinking precision
With Elekta, seeing clearly means treating precisely. And treating precisely means every patient gets the right care, at the right moment.
The case for adaptive radiotherapy
Fewer sessions, same or better outcomes
Adaptive makes 2–5 fraction hypofractionation feasible.2
Margins matter
UNITED trial shows MRI-guided ART reduces margins safely in high-grade gliomas.3
Toxicity can be reduced
MIRAGE trial showed a 5× reduction in GU toxicity with adaptive.4
Hope for pancreas patients
Adaptive SBRT is extending survival and improving local control in a historically lethal disease.5
Global need is growing
35M cancer cases projected annually by 2050 demand smarter delivery.6
Adaptive in action
Clinicians at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and AdventHealth show how Elekta’s adaptive technologies are transforming care in practice. From reducing treatment sessions with Elekta Unity in Baton Rouge to advancing precision brain treatments with Leksell Gamma Knife® in Orlando, adaptive is changing the experience for patients every day.
The benefits of Adaptive Radiotherapy
Clinical confidence
Greater precision, better outcomes
Plans reflect each patient’s daily anatomy, reducing toxicity, protecting organs at risk, and enabling safe dose escalation with evidence of improved outcomes.
Operational pressures
Improved efficiency, agile workflows
Hypofractionated schedules (2–5 fractions) free up capacity, while adaptive workflows streamline complex cases without overburdening staff.
Financial & strategic value
Lower costs, higher value
Fewer treatment sessions mean lower costs for patients and payers whilst increasing patient throughput.
- With <8.4m more patients needing radiotherapy by 2050, the demand will increase for advanced treatment modalities that offer higher precision.
- Chuong et al., 2023—hypofractionation reduces number of visits, lowering travel and co-pay burden while freeing machine capacity
- Hypofractionated adaptive radiotherapy enables the treatment of previously inoperable or high-risk tumors
Clinical evidence that matters
Together with leading cancer centers worldwide, Elekta has built one of the strongest bodies of adaptive evidence in the field. These studies demonstrate that adaptive radiotherapy is no longer an experiment—it’s becoming a standard of care.
Dr. Lampe
"Adaptive opens up a totally new world for us. We can see what we’re treating—and adapt to it."
Why radiotherapy is key to transforming cancer care
Prof. Pat Price on Spilling the RT
Evolve your standard of care—one step at a time
Clinics worldwide are delivering care that adapts—combining technology, insight, and compassion to meet patients where they are.
Whether you’re refining margins, adopting daily imaging, scaling your workflow or expanding into new capabilities, Elekta is here to support your next step.
Leading clinicians in India explain how adaptive radiotherapy personalizes treatment to daily patient changes, helping reduce side effects and improve outcomes.
You don’t have to do it alone
Adaptive is a journey, and we're here to support you at every stage. With multi-modality imaging, software, and expert guidance, we help make adaptive work for your clinic—so every patient receives the right treatment at the right moment, tailored to their unique anatomy and response.
Adaptive is the future of personalized care, and nobody does adaptive like Elekta.
Ready to progress from IGRT to Adaptive?
Join us in Amsterdam, October 3–4, 2025, for the Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) Course at Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
This hands-on training will show how IGRT is the foundation for Adaptive Radiotherapy, with practical sessions on imaging, QA, treatment setup, and workflows using Elekta solutions.
References
- Momentum Registry, IJROBP 2022 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04075305
- PACE-B Trial, Lancet Oncol 2023 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(22)00517-4/fulltext
- UNIty-Based MR-Linac Guided Adaptive RadioThErapy for High GraDe Glioma-3 (UNITED-3) (UNITED-3) https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05720078
- MIRAGE Trial, JCO2023 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36633877/
- SMART Trial, Phase II, 2023 https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(23)00499-6/fulltext https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.05.023
- Global Impact Report, 2025 aboutadaptive.com