How MR-guided radiotherapy is supporting more individualized pediatric care in Mexico
In pediatric radiotherapy, what clinicians can see during treatment can shape the decisions they make in the room. Pediatric cancer presents unique challenges. Children's bodies are still developing, and while treating the tumor effectively is essential, protecting healthy tissues is equally important. Every millimeter matters. Every treatment decision can influence not only survival, but also long-term quality of life.
This is where adaptive radiotherapy changes the future. Teletón Children’s Oncology Hospital (HITO) in Querétaro, Mexico, already shows what focused pediatric care can do. Their survival rate is 86 percent, against under 40-50 percent nationally.
That is the setting in which HITO is inaugurating Elekta Unity, bringing MR-guided radiotherapy into a dedicated pediatric oncology environment in Mexico.
The hospital’s model of care brings together diagnosis, treatment, complication management, quality of life and support for patients and families. Within that model, technology is not a standalone milestone. It is one part of a wider approach to helping each child move through treatment with care that reflects their individual needs.
Seeing more clearly at the point of treatment
Elekta Unity combines high-quality MRI imaging with radiation delivery, allowing clinicians to see the tumor and surrounding organs at the time of treatment and adapt the treatment plan when needed. This means greater precision, better protection of healthy tissue, and more confidence that the right dose is delivered to the right place, every day. For pediatric patients, this makes a profound difference.
The value is not only in technology itself, but in the information, it brings into the clinical moment. Clearer images can support more informed decisions and help teams tailor care for each child.
The impact of MR-Linac adaptive radiotherapy has been seen in over 120 centers around the world, where clinicians have successfully leveraged Unity to push the boundaries of adaptive treatment and improve patient care. Now HITO joins a global community of pioneering hospitals that are redefining what is possible in radiation oncology.
The installation also reflects the collaboration needed to bring advanced radiotherapy into specialist care environments. Fundación Teletón México, Elekta and project partners including the Diez Morodo Foundation have helped make the project possible.
“This milestone is about giving children and adolescents with cancer access to advanced radiotherapy within a care model designed around their needs and their families,” said Dr. Beatriz Garcia, Pediatric Radiation Oncologist and Deputy Director of Imaging, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy at HITO
For further information, please contact:
Kathy Pajari, Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +46 76 255 6056, e-mail: [email protected]
Time zone: CEST (Central European Summertime)