CINCINNATI, Ohio (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Almost two million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. More than half of them will receive radiation therapy at some point during their care. It’s one of the best ways to control a tumor’s growth, but radiation can also come with some risks, including damaging nearby tissues and organs. Now, a new, more targeted treatment is helping to blast away tumors and save more lives, lattice therapy.
“Your entire world shifts and nothing is, nothing is normal. Nothing’s the same,” emphasizes lung cancer patient, Diane Miller.
Diane’s life changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer. Radiation Oncologist at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, Andrew Frankart, MD, is the first in the country to lead a clinical trial that uses a new type of radiation targeting system to help patients like Diane.
“Right now, with radiation we’re more restricted to moderate doses that can help relieve symptoms and provide a temporary effect but may not be sufficient dosing to provide a lasting impact or to control the tumor itself,” Dr. Frankart explains.
Traditionally, radiation targets the entire tumor with the same dose of radiation. The new approach, called lattice therapy, is able to target higher doses of radiation to specific areas within the tumor.
Dr. Frankhart adds, “The difference with lattice therapy is it’s still using that arc to generate a plan, but we’re purposefully making spheres or circles of higher dose within the target.”
The higher dose means a higher chance of killing the cancer without hurting surrounding tissue. Lattice therapy can be delivered with existing radiation machines. The team now plans on testing the lattice therapy on patients with large tumors that have been resistant to other treatments.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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