The Hadassah team became the first in the world to implant Alpha DaRT sources into a tumor simultaneously through two separate paths.
By Shula Rosen
Surgeons at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem have used a new form of targeted radiation to treat a patient with recurrent glioblastoma for the first time in Israel, testing an approach designed to destroy tumors while limiting damage to healthy brain tissue.
The procedure was performed on a 77-year-old patient as part of a Phase 1 clinical trial of Alpha DaRT, or Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy.
Hadassah developed the treatment with Israeli oncology therapeutics company Alpha Tau Medical.
Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive brain tumor in adults and almost always returns even after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Treatment options are limited once the cancer recurs.
Alpha DaRT uses tiny radiation sources placed directly inside the tumor.
They release alpha particles that travel only a short distance, concentrating the radiation on the cancer while reducing exposure to surrounding healthy brain tissue.
“Alpha DaRT allows us to perform precise, minimally invasive treatment and avoid the need for extensive brain surgery,” said Dr. Yigal Shoshan, director of Neurosurgery, Oncology and Stereotactic Radiosurgery at Hadassah.
Shoshan said surgeons use the same navigation technology employed for highly precise brain biopsies to position the radiation sources inside the tumor.
The Hadassah team became the first in the world to implant Alpha DaRT sources into a tumor simultaneously through two separate paths.
Preliminary results from the Phase 1 trial in the United States have drawn interest among neuro-oncology researchers.
Preclinical research has also suggested the treatment could stimulate an immune response against tumors elsewhere in the brain, although that possibility remains under investigation.
Approximately 14,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with glioblastoma annually, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In Israel, 150 to 250 people are diagnosed each year. Median survival in Israel is roughly 15 to 16 months, while 10 percent of patients survive for 5 years after diagnosis.
“Seeing the technology reach a patient in Israel for the first time was an exciting moment for everyone who has been part of this journey,” Shoshan said.