Dr Danish on the Use of Novel Radiotherapy Approaches in Cancer Care

Adnan F. Danish, MD, radiation oncologist at John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, chief, the Division of Radiation Oncology, St Joseph’s Health, discusses the use of novel radiotherapy approaches in cancer care.

Despite the benefits to treatment seen with radiotherapy, challenges still remain within this treatment modality, Danish begins. For example, imaging can detail the exact location of a tumor at a specific point in time; however, tumors can shift due to movement and changes in anatomy, Danish says. Therefore, margins of error are added to radiotherapy to accommodate for any shifts in the tumor. Over time, changes have been made to better address this issue, and pinpointing real-time locations of tumors is now easier, Danish explains. In turn, this has led to a decrease in margin of treatment, reducing adverse effects that may occur as a result of stray radiation, Danish adds. Up until this point in time, beacons or fiducials implanted in tumors have helped provide real-time location for tumors and confirm the deliver of radiation therapy, Danish expands.

However, there is now the ability to use the tumor itself as a beacon to guide radiation therapy, Danish notes. SCINTIX radiation technology is designed to deliver precise, multimodal therapy to metastatic disease sites in patients with advanced lung and bone cancers, Danish explains. Rather than assuming that the tumor is stationary and adding a margin to accommodate for changes in anatomy motion, this technology detects motion and changes in anatomy to guide radiation treatment, Danish continues. Therefore, patients can be treated with a much smaller margin with an increased therapeutic ratio of treatment, Danish concludes.