Leo Cancer Care Unveils Bold Plans to Improve How Children Experience Radiotherapy, Following World-First Treatments

BOSTON, Sept. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Leo Cancer Care has announced plans to further invest in the treatment experience for children undergoing radiation therapy. Following the world's first pediatric treatments using an upright positioning and imaging platform, Marie®, the company has confirmed it has developed a dedicated pediatric program bringing together education, distraction and gamification.

First pediatric treatments

In June 2026, Stanford Medicine delivered the first treatments using the Mevion S250-FIT Proton Therapy System™, which integrates Leo Cancer Care's Marie® upright positioning and imaging solution and utilizes RaySearch Laboratories' RayStation® planning system.

These early treatments have shown not only that upright pediatric proton therapy is feasible, but that it can be applied across a wide pediatric age range, and that anesthesia remains available where it is the right clinical choice.

A more natural position for children

The company set out to develop a platform that would simplify the delivery of, and access to, radiation therapy by rethinking the conventional approach. Instead of moving the radiation beam around a patient lying down, their solution inverts this: The beam stays fixed while the patient, seated or semi-standing, is rotated to treatment positions in front of it.

An upright position also encourages more active participation. When children can sit or stand, it is easier for them to play an active role in their treatment, which may help reduce fear and foster a sense of control.

Unlocking imaginations to design a new experience

The foundation of the new experience is underpinned by the premise that a chair can become, in a child's imagination, the seat of a rocket ship blasting off into space, or the driver's seat of a racing car at the Grand Prix.  

This insight has been carried through into a dedicated program for children. It includes an augmented-reality education platform that lets a child explore the upright treatment room on a phone or tablet before their first visit, guided by Leo the Lion, who also appears as a soft toy from the first oncology appointment and in Toby's Magic Chair, a storybook following a young boy through upright treatment. 

Leo Cancer Care has also licensed a Stanford Medicine system called AVATAR: a radiolucent screen positioned in the child's line of sight in the treatment room, designed to offer immersive distraction during treatment and reduce the need for anesthesia.

New research efforts and clinician guidance

A new report, Upright positioning in pediatric radiotherapy: rationale, safety considerations and a research roadmap, has been published in Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. It is the work of the Upright Radiotherapy Pediatric Task Group, an international, multiprofessional group spanning radiation oncology, medical physics, radiation therapy, pediatric anesthesia and industry, including Leo Cancer Care.

The report finds that upright positioning may reduce distress for selected children, while noting that pediatric-specific evidence remains limited. It outlines a research roadmap for upright radiotherapy in pediatric oncology and highlights the importance of standardized, safety-led workflows for children.

Challenging the conventions to deliver a more human way

Pediatric patients are the leading clinical application for proton therapy, and the children with the clearest indication have historically had the least access to it.

Leo Cancer Care's aim is to make radiation therapy fit the patient rather than the other way around. Their upright platform opens access to the children who need protons most, and changes what the room asks of them once they are in it. It is a true nod to their vision of delivering radiation therapy in a more human way.

At the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2026 Annual Meeting in Boston, Leo Cancer Care is sharing its clinical progress and vision for the future at booth 519.