Dr Danish on the Potential for Treatment with SCINTIX Radiation Technology in Lung and Bone Cancers

Adnan F. Danish, MD, radiation oncologist, John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, chief, Division of Radiation Oncology, St. Joseph’s Health, discusses the potential for SCINTIX radiation technology to open new treatmentopportunities for patients with cancer, including those with lung and bone cancers, whose disease has metastasized to more than 5 sites.

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

Previously reported data indicated that patients who present with up to stage IV cancer with disease involving multiple sites who receive ablative therapy along with standard-of-care (SOC) systemic therapy seem to have a better chance of survival than those who do not receive this combination approach, Danish begins. However, this benefit has not been translated to patients who have disease involving more than 5 sites, he says. This is because the technology has not been capable of handling those disease presentations, he explains.

To combat this unmet need, with the use of SCINTIX radiation technology, using PET to guide the radiation, oncologists should be able to treat more patients than before, Danish expands. Therefore, investigators now wish to show a benefit with ablative therapy plus systemic therapy in patients with polymetastatic disease.

Investigators continue to look at ways of combining radiation therapy with other targeted therapies, such as immunotherapies, therapies that are targeted towards specific receptors, or even SOC chemotherapy, Danish continues. Moreover, investigators hope to use ablative therapy to treat patients with stage IV disease and determine the effect of this therapy on their disease outcomes, he says. Although data support this approach, research efforts are constrained by the limits of current technology, Danish concludes.