Constantinos Koumenis, Ph.D., BS, Richard H. Chamberlain Professor of Research Oncology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. In this video, he speaks about Penn Medicine Awarded $12.3M NIH Grant to Study Ultra-Fast, High-Dose FLASH Radiation Therapy for Cancer.
Description in Detail:
The purpose of this clinical study is to evaluate the workflow feasibility of FLASH radiation treatment in a clinical setting, as well as the toxicities and pain alleviation when utilized to treat bone metastasis(-es) in the extremities (excluding feet, hands, wrists). FLASH radiotherapy has been found in preclinical experiments to cause less damage to surrounding normal tissues during radiation treatment while yet killing tumor cells at a comparable rate. Patients over the age of 18 with painful bone metastases in their limbs will be evaluated for the research. These patients are an appropriate population for a FLASH radiotherapy feasibility research since they have been shown to benefit from the palliative effects of radiotherapy utilizing single-dose radiation regimens of 8Gy, which is what is being used in this trial. Following treatment, patients will be evaluated for pain relief as well as any radiation-related side effects. The treatment’s workflow feasibility will also be assessed.