Scholarly Exchange Features Experts From The James, ChinaCOLUMBUS, Ohio – In recent years, only 10 hospitals nationwide have started using a portable electron-beam linear accelerator to deliver high-dose radiation to cancer patients during surgery. Now, some hospitals are sharing the tissue-sparing technology abroad.
The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University is one of the early adopters and pioneers in the applications of the mobile intra-operative electron-beam radiation therapy (IOERT) machine called the Mobetron. The device is designed to be used in any operating room, and benefits include increased survival rates, better local tumor control, shorter treatment cycles and fewer side effects for some types of cancers. This month, as part of a scholarly exchange with China, radiation oncologists, radiation medical physicists and surgical oncologists at The James and the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center are teaching Chinese doctors how to use the device. “The advantage of this intra-operative radiotherapy unit is that actually it can be moved to the patient, instead of having the patient move to the linear accelerator,” said Dr. John Grecula, associate professor and director of clinical research in the department of radiation medicine at The James. “Just one highly targeted dose to the area of the tumor resection is the equivalent of 8 daily external radiation treatments.” Grecula recently traveled with the founder and chief scientist of IntraOp, the manufacturer, to Beijing to conduct a weeklong IOERT symposium for more than 150 cancer specialists at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS). Grecula described how the treatment option, combined with external beam radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy, has been successfully used at The James for patients with advanced head and neck cancers, colorectal cancers, gynecologic cancers, pancreatic cancer and radioresistant sarcomas. “Cancer is unpredictable cell growth. From experience, we know some types of tumors, especially advanced tumors, have a higher chance of recurring in the area of tumor resection. This machine allows us to deliver focused radiation to the area of highest risk where the tumor may recur,” says Grecula. Grecula and his colleagues are training a delegation of doctors and scientists from the Cancer Institute & Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, as part of a two-week scholarly exchange to collaborate on research, training and best practices using this cancer-fighting regimen. The James is among four hospitals nationwide participating in the scholarly exchange. “International exchange of experience for the benefit of patients here and abroad is an important part of our mission as the practice of medicine is becoming more and more global,” says Dr. Nina Mayr, professor and chair of the department of radiation medicine. In the past, hospitals would have had to build fixed radiation tools into one surgical suite and move patients to it for treatment. This machine is not only powerful, it is also mobile. The device can move in eight different directions to deliver high doses of radiation directly at the surgical site to destroy residual microscopic cancer cells that may survive surgery. As an added benefit, sensitive normal tissue can be moved out of the way of the high-dose radiation beam. The best way to evaluate an innovative treatment technique is through clinical trials, says Grecula. Researchers at The James and Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center have recently published long-term results of clinical trials using intra-operative radiotherapy in combination with pre-operative chemoradiotherapy, surgery and post-operative chemoradiotherapy in patients with advanced head and neck cancers. The research showed that patients had excellent survival and long-term local control of their tumors. The clinical trials at The James were led by principal investigator Dr. David E. Schuller, vice president of Ohio State University Medical Center Expansion and Outreach. “This is one of many examples of excellent team work at The James to improve the outcome of our patients with cancer,” says Dr. Michael Caligiuri, chief executive officer of The James and director of Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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