Dr Danish on the Challenges of Radiation Treatment in Lung and Bone Cancers

Adnan F. Danish, MD, radiation oncologist at John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, chief, the Division of Radiation Oncology, St. Joseph’s Health, discusses unmet needs in the treatment of patients with lung and bone cancers, and how unmet needs within this patient population are being addressed with the utilization of SCINTIX radiation technology.

In February 2023, the FDA granted clearance to SCINTIX biology-guided radiotherapy for the treatment of patients with primary or metastatic lung and bone tumors. SCINTIX is also cleared for the use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery for all solid tumors.

Although tumors of the lung and bone account for approximately about 70% of annual cancer deaths from solid tumors, many of these patients do not receive radiation therapy due to logistical and technical challenges that arise when attempting to treat multiple tumor locations in a single treatment session, Danish says. With traditional radiotherapy, the need to localize a tumor and treat it requires a separate session for each radiation treatment, Danish adds.

SCINTIX radiation technology could address these challenges by allowing for the delivery of precise, multimodal therapy to multiple metastatic disease sites in a single session, Danish continues. Previously, the presentation of metastatic disease with lung and bone involvement would have precluded patients from receiving radiation; however, when these sites are simultaneously involved, these patients could potentially be candidates for SCINTIX radiation technology, he adds. Ultimately, this could allow for more patients to gain access to a treatment modality that would have previously been unfeasable, Danish concludes.