Loyola Enrolling Brain Tumor Patients in Clinical Trial Using IORT, a New Radiation Therapy
January 29, 2019Categories: cancer, Neurology & Neurosurgery
Tags: Cancer, Neurology Neurosurgery
MAYWOOD, IL – Loyola Medicine is participating in a landmark clinical trial that uses intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), a new radiation treatment, for patients with glioblastoma multiform, a brain cancer with a high mortality rate.
After the tumor is removed, the treatment uses a high, focused dose of radiation is delivered directly to the tumor cavity to kill any microscopic cancer cells left behind. The treatment in the clincial trial is called intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) (intraoperative means during surgery).
Loyola Medicine is the only center in Illinois participating in the international multicenter study. Loyola also is using IORT to treat a broad range of other cancers in clinical trials or as part of standard treatment. These cancers include breast, gynecological, head and neck, pancreatic, colorectal and bone cancers.
Glioblastoma is among the cancers with the highest mortality rates because in most patients, the cancer comes back after treatment. For patients ages 55 to 64, for example, the five-year survival rate is only 5 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. The standard treatment consists of surgery to remove as much of the tumor as can be done safely, followed by chemotherapy and 30 radiation sessions.
The study will determine whether IORT plus standard treatment for glioblastoma is more effective than standard treatment alone in preventing tumor regrowth. 50% of the patients in the study will be randomly assigned to receive standard therapy. The other half will receive standard therapy plus IORT.
IORT is a multidisciplinary treatment that involves specialists including a neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist and medical physicist. Prior to surgery, the radiation oncologist and medical physicist perform detailed calculations to determine the precise radiation dose. After the neurosurgeon has removed the tumor, a spherical radiation device is placed in the tumor cavity. The device is turned on and x-ray radiation is applied for approximately 30 to 100 minutes. Because the radiation does not have to travel through healthy brain tissue to reach the site, much higher doses can be safely applied.
The study is known as a prospective, randomized, two-arm, open-label Phase 3 clinical trial. Radiation oncologist Abhishek Solanki, MD, is principal investigator for the Loyola site.
The study sponsor is University Medical Center Mannheim in Germany. It's titled, "A Multicenter, Randomized Phase III Study on Intraoperative Radiotherapy in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme (INTAGO II)."
The study is open to glioblastoma patients aged 18 to 80 who meet certain other criteria. For more information, contact Beth Chiappetta, RN, Loyola radiation oncology research coordinator, at 708-216-2568 or bchiappetta@lumc.edu.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).