Clinical Trial Tests Single-dose, High-Dose Radiation Therapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

July 23, 2018

For Marilyn Gibson, 81 years old, it was obvious: would she be interested in having a single dose of radiation to treat her bad cancer instead of the norm, multiple doses? treatment delivered for several weeks?

Ms. Gibson chose to be part of a clinical trial of UT Southwestern Medical Center testing a high-dose, high-dose, point-in-time radiotherapy treatment called stereotactic radiation therapy for early-stage bad cancer. The Arlington resident said that the single – dose option works well for someone at her age, which limits her behavior, although she can imagine that she too is attractive for a busy young woman who juggles with her family and her work.

I want to put it back, and it will be my only great contribution to humanity, "said Ms. Gibson

Asal Rahimi, Assistant Professor, Director of Clinical Research and Member of the Board Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, said that standard radiotherapy for bad cancer ranges from 16 to 33 radiological treatments administered to the entire bad over a period of three to six weeks. less patient lives. "We took the concept of a single dose of radiation delivered to the intraoperative tumor area and try to make it accessible to the general public oncology radiotherapy using the CyberKnife, which is a radiation machine robotic that can treat a focal point. "

While some medical centers treat bad cancer with a single dose of radiation at the time of surgery, the protocol tested at UT Southwester n delivers radiotherapy treatment after surgery, said Dr. Rahimi. "The benefit of treatment after a lumpectomy is that we can be sure that the margins are clear and that we know the state of the lymph nodes, so we can be certain that the patient is a good candidate for radiation therapy. partial bad. "

After the operation, the patient returns to the medical center to place small gold seeds called landmarks, which are guides to know where the radiation should go. later, the patient returns for treatment, which is a very high dose of radiation delivered to a very focal localized area.

"Not all women live in a city where they have access to a radiation oncology suite . So we have women we see who live for hours coming to UT Southwestern for medical care, "said Dr. Rahimi. "We have women coming from different states to be treated here because they want these shorter courses so that they have less disruption to their lives."

Ms. Gibson said his treatment was painless and enjoyable. "They played music all the time, I even went to sleep twice in my process."

The clinical trial looks at three different levels of radiation dose. Patients are followed for several years after their treatment.

This study builds on previous work examining bad cancer treatment at an early stage with five stereotactic radiotherapy treatments. This study, published in 2017, found that the shorter treatment of radiotherapy had a favorable toxicity profile and good cosmetic results. UT Southwestern has been a national leader in establishing ablative stereotactic radiotherapy, also known as SAbR, as a standard treatment for prostate cancer and other cancers.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), 266,120 women cancer in 2018. More than half of all bad cancer cases – 62% – are diagnosed early, before the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes. The five-year survival rate for bad cancer diagnosed at this early, localized stage is 99 percent, according to the NCI

. Gibson said the clinical trial suited his personal goals. "I wanted it to be fast, I wanted it to be effective."

But there was another reason why she enrolled at the trial: It's her way of rendering, advancing science and medicine. It's so important, so I'm in the right place, that's no question … Oh, my god, I'm lucky, I'm lucky to be here, "says Mrs. Gibson. :