NIH-funded research U01 cooperative agreement

AI-powered radiotherapy planning for cervical and head and neck cancer

Official title: ARCHERY: Artificial Intelligence based Radiotherapy treatment planning for Cervical and Head and Neck cancer

Funded at University College London · NIH-11399428 · Data updated 2026-11-12

This project uses artificial intelligence to create faster, accurate radiotherapy plans for people with cervical or head and neck cancer so more patients can get timely treatment.

More Head and Neck Cancer research and trials

Quick facts

Grant typeU01 cooperative agreement
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity College London
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (London, United Kingdom)
Project startSeptember 1, 2022
Project endAugust 31, 2027
Funding year2025
Award (this year)$31,588
NIH project number3U01CA269143-03S1
Project IDNIH-11399428 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Adults diagnosed with cervical cancer or head and neck cancer who are scheduled to receive curative radiotherapy at participating clinical centers would be the ideal candidates.

Less likely to help

People with cancers outside the targeted sites, those not receiving radiotherapy, or patients needing highly individualized plans due to prior radiation or complex anatomy may not benefit from this approach.

What this research studies

You would receive radiotherapy planned with AI software that automatically outlines tumors and nearby organs on CT images and proposes beam shapes and settings. The team will run a prospective, non-randomized study enrolling about 706 patients (about 353 per cancer type) to compare AI-generated plans with usual planning workflows. They will measure plan quality, treatment safety, and the time and cost needed to produce plans, with a focus on sites in low- and middle-income countries. The goal is to shorten planning time from weeks to less than a day while keeping care safe and effective.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could make accurate radiotherapy faster and more widely available, especially in low-resource settings.

How similar studies have gone: Technical studies have shown AI can speed up contouring and planning and often match expert plans, but prospective clinical and economic evidence in low-resource settings is still limited.

Where this research is happening

  • University College London
    London, United Kingdom
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Aggarwal, Ajay — University College London
  • Study coordinator: Aggarwal, Ajay

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.