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Abramson Cancer Center to Study Ultra-Fast, High Dose FLASH Radiation Therapy
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
The Abramson Cancer Center is set to start preclinical research on a new form of radiation, called FLASH, which will provide ultra-fast doses to cancer patients. Today’s radiation doses take several minutes, but FLASH radiation can be administered in less than one second. Not only is this treatment quicker, but it also has the possibility of reducing the toxic effects on the body that traditional radiation can sometimes have by keeping normal tissues healthy without harming their anti-tumor action.
This research comes as the result of a $12.3 million dollar grant received by Penn Medicine from the National Institutes of Health. The Department of Radiation Oncology at Penn will use this grant to compare the different types of radiotherapy and their different effects and harms on the body. Testing how these types of radiotherapies control or change tumors on bones, soft tissues, gastrointestinal tract, and or lungs.
Once further research is complete, clinical trials can begin for cancer fighters at Abramson Cancer Center. Although not clinically trialed on patients yet, Penn has done animal studies of FLASH, in which results showed that when radiation is implemented at a much faster pace, it shows to equally fight tumors while protecting normal tissues.
“We envision FLASH radiotherapy not as a complete replacement for conventional radiotherapy, but as a valuable tool in the hands of radiation oncologists to treat specific solid tumors in which it would be best indicated,” said James Metz, MD, chair of Radiation Oncology and leader of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn.
To learn more about Penn’s developing research on FLASH Therapy, read here.
(Photo courtesy of Penn Medicine- Department of Radiation Oncology at Penn Medicine including Amit Maity, MD, PhD (left), James Metz, MD, (middle), Constantinos Koumenis, PhD, (right).
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The Abramson Cancer Center is set to start preclinical research on a new form of radiation, called FLASH, which will provide ultra-fast doses to cancer patients. Today’s radiation doses take several minutes, but FLASH radiation can be administered in less than one second. Not only is this treatment quicker, but it also has the possibility of reducing the toxic effects on the body that traditional radiation can sometimes have by keeping normal tissues healthy without harming their anti-tumor action.
This research comes as the result of a $12.3 million dollar grant received by Penn Medicine from the National Institutes of Health. The Department of Radiation Oncology at Penn will use this grant to compare the different types of radiotherapy and their different effects and harms on the body. Testing how these types of radiotherapies control or change tumors on bones, soft tissues, gastrointestinal tract, and or lungs.
Once further research is complete, clinical trials can begin for cancer fighters at Abramson Cancer Center. Although not clinically trialed on patients yet, Penn has done animal studies of FLASH, in which results showed that when radiation is implemented at a much faster pace, it shows to equally fight tumors while protecting normal tissues.
“We envision FLASH radiotherapy not as a complete replacement for conventional radiotherapy, but as a valuable tool in the hands of radiation oncologists to treat specific solid tumors in which it would be best indicated,” said James Metz, MD, chair of Radiation Oncology and leader of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn.
To learn more about Penn’s developing research on FLASH Therapy, read here.
(Photo courtesy of Penn Medicine- Department of Radiation Oncology at Penn Medicine including Amit Maity, MD, PhD (left), James Metz, MD, (middle), Constantinos Koumenis, PhD, (right).