Pioneering radiotherapy technique multiplies survival rate for non-operable lung cancer
The Catalan Institute of Oncology has achieved a survival rate of nearly 80% in the first two years compared to 30% with conventional radiotherapy.
By Biocat
Extra-cranial stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), a high-precision technique that applies high doses of radiation in a highly targeted area without irradiating healthy tissue, has increased the two-year survival rate among patients with non-operable lung cancer from 30% to 80%. These are the findings of a study carried out by the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) presented last week at ICO L’Hospitalet.
The study, carried out by the center’s Radiotherapy Oncology Unit, was led by Dr. Ferran Guedea and the lead researchers were Arturo Navarro and Maria del Mar Arnaiz. After treating nearly eighty patients at ICO L’Hospitalet, the results obtained from the first 43 patients show a two-year survival rate of 79.10%, more than double that of conventional radiotherapy. Localized control of the tumor is 96.4%, a very high rate, according to ICO, if compared to data from other benchmark studies around the world.
Another advantage of SBRT treatment is that it reduces treatment time, consisting of between one and eight sessions over a maximum of three weeks, while conventional radiotherapy can last up to six or seven weeks.
These positive results have led ICO, under special protocols, to start using SBRT to treat liver tumors, bone metastasis, suprarenal metastasis and prostate tumors.
In recent years, efforts in the field of radiotherapy have focused on making treatment more precise and effective. The aim is to administer the maximum dosage of radiation to the tumor without affecting surrounding tissue. This allows doctors to treat a wider range of tumors with fewer side effects. In an interview with Biocat, Dr. Candela Calle, general manager of ICO, discussed these breakthroughs.
ICO has been a pioneer in Spain in applying intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). In 2008, it was the first center in the Spanish public health system to incorporate extra-cranial stereotactic body radiotherapy and since 2010 has been using the TrueBeam radiotherapy device, the third in the world after the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.