Sam Brusco, Associate Editor12.01.21
RefleXion Medical has been granted breakthrough status from the FDA for its biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) to help treat lung tumors. With the ability to spot and immediately treat moving tumors, BgRT uses injected radiotracers to produce emissions from each tumor to guide treatment delivery.
“Lung tumors are often fast moving, and a patient may have multiple tumors at the time of diagnosis, which limits the use of standard radiation techniques in the lungs,” Terence Williams, M.D., Ph.D., chair of radiation oncology at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, told the press. “The potential of biology-guided radiotherapy overcomes these limitations to offer us a promising, cost-efficient, comprehensive, and more targeted treatment for these common malignancies.”
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death, accounting for a quarter of all U.S. cancer deaths1. The lungs are also the most common site for metastatic tumors arising in other areas of the body.
“The unmet need in lung cancer is staggering,” said Todd Powell, president and CEO of RefleXion. “By harnessing the continuous biological interaction between the radiotracer and the cancer cells, BgRT has the potential to manage tumor motion with unprecedented precision. Our designation as a Breakthrough Device reflects the significance of our potential future contribution in the leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S.”
BgRT’s vision is to expand treatment options for patients in all stages of cancer. Recent lung cancer trials combining radiotherapy with drug therapy have showed improvements in overall and progression-free survival. Current technology is unable to reach more than one to three tumors, and BgRT aims to overcome this and deliver radiotherapy to more disease sites.
Reference
1 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
“Lung tumors are often fast moving, and a patient may have multiple tumors at the time of diagnosis, which limits the use of standard radiation techniques in the lungs,” Terence Williams, M.D., Ph.D., chair of radiation oncology at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, told the press. “The potential of biology-guided radiotherapy overcomes these limitations to offer us a promising, cost-efficient, comprehensive, and more targeted treatment for these common malignancies.”
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death, accounting for a quarter of all U.S. cancer deaths1. The lungs are also the most common site for metastatic tumors arising in other areas of the body.
“The unmet need in lung cancer is staggering,” said Todd Powell, president and CEO of RefleXion. “By harnessing the continuous biological interaction between the radiotracer and the cancer cells, BgRT has the potential to manage tumor motion with unprecedented precision. Our designation as a Breakthrough Device reflects the significance of our potential future contribution in the leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S.”
BgRT’s vision is to expand treatment options for patients in all stages of cancer. Recent lung cancer trials combining radiotherapy with drug therapy have showed improvements in overall and progression-free survival. Current technology is unable to reach more than one to three tumors, and BgRT aims to overcome this and deliver radiotherapy to more disease sites.
Reference
1 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html