New cancer therapy Improved radiation therapy can cure despite metastases

Innovative procedure enables targeted treatment of tumors
New hope for cancer patients: Some have cancer
If a few metastases are formed, they can be treated with the help of a novel radiotherapy. This reports the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) on the occasion of this year's annual meeting, which took place recently in Mannheim. Thus, with the new method, tumors could be purposefully destroyed with very high radiation doses, without unduly stressing the healthy tissue. This would increase the chances of recovery, even if the cancer has already spread.

Around half a million people are diagnosed with cancer every year
According to information from German Cancer Aid, around 500,000 new people in Germany suffer from cancer every year, and some 224,000 people die of it each year. This makes cancer the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease. If the tumor is localized, it can usually be cured through local treatment such as surgery. However, if it has already spread to other parts of the body or forms metastases, the treatment is much more difficult. Because a cure can only be achieved if the tumor and all metastases operate well or can be completely destroyed by other therapies.

With the help of the new stereotactic radiotherapy, certain tumors can be destroyed effectively and with few side effects. (Image: fotoliaxrender / fotolia.com)

"If the cancer has spread, in the past, often only systemic therapies such as chemotherapy were available. At the same time, substances acting against the cancer circulate in the bloodstream and reach the cells throughout the body, "says Professor Dr. med. med. Stephanie E. Combs quoted in the DEGRO communication. Although this could be effective, the patient often had severe side effects, according to the director of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Radiotherapy at the Klinikum rechts der Isar in Munich.

Precise alignment of the radiation possible
If the cancer has scattered in only a few places in the body, ("Oligometastasierung", from Greek "oligo" for "little"), it is the expert according to advantage if treated directly at the affected site. For this purpose, a new method of radiation has now been developed, which is referred to in the jargon as "stereotactic radiotherapy" (short: stereotaxy). The advantage over conventional radiotherapy lies in the precision with which the radiation can be directed to damaged tissue. Because the therapists can specify with millimeter precision which areas should be treated. In addition, the tumor is irradiated from several sides, so that the surrounding, healthy tissue is less stressed. "We can bring a very high radiation dose directly to the affected area. In the case of the surrounding healthy tissue, the dose is then much lower ", summarizes Stephanie E. Combs.

Generally applicable for every type of cancer
For example, if brain metastases were irradiated, the risk of neurocognitive impairment would be reduced. "High-precision radiotherapy is comparable to surgical treatment, such as small metastases in the lungs," the expert continues. For other cancers, such as a prostate carcinoma with few bone metastases, the new method could push back the disease and delay the onset of hormone therapy. In general, stereotaxy can be used for every tumor disease, such as breast cancer, informs DEGRO. "With the stereotactic radiotherapy, we not only treat effectively, but with few side effects. And we increase the chances of recovery, even if the cancer has spread, "said Frederik Wenz, conference president and director of the Department of Radiotherapy and Radiooncology at the University Hospital Mannheim, according to the release.

Tumor must be small and very localizable
According to Stephanie Combs, however, precise information about the size and spread of the metastases is a prerequisite for implementation. Before these do not prove a chance of success, no treatment is carried out. As informed by the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, three conditions must be fulfilled at the same time so that an extremely precise irradiation can be considered. Accordingly, the tumor must be relatively small with a maximum of two to three centimeters and very precisely localized in the X-ray image. Secondly, the tumor should grow well demarcated, so that a precautionary co-irradiation of the environment is not necessary. Once these points have been met, the patient must be placed in the most precise position to ensure accurate targeting in the body. (No)