As the first person to be treated for cancer with a moving radiation beam that tracks minuscule movements in his tumour, Tony Saunders felt a bit like the first dog blasted into space by the Russians.

''I feel a bit like Laika the dog. I am very interested, I find it quite exciting, but I wish it wasn't me,'' said Mr Saunders, 78, who was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer earlier this year.

Trial: Tony Saunders undergoes treatment. Credit:James Brickwood

The new technology was used for the first time on Thursday to search for and destroy Mr Saunders' cancerous polyps.

Researchers hope this real-time tracking system will eventually be used to improve treatment of cancers on other parts of the body that move during treatment, such as the lungs, the pancreas and the breast. For Sydney University's Professor Paul Keall, the clinical trial is the culmination of 14 years of research.