Roswell Park among first in North America to offer new treatment for spinal tumors 

Patients who cannot tolerate surgery for the treatment of spinal tumors now have an attractive alternative with the introduction of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. With the acquisition of its new Trilogy® system, RPCI is the first treatment center in Western New York and one of only a handful in North America to offer SBRT.

The treatment delivers very high doses of radiation, focused with pinpoint precision through the use of image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Combining the two technologies results in several benefits:

• The treatment makes it possible to knock out even tumors that were previously resistant to radiation.
• Because it delivers radiation so precisely, it helps protect healthy tissues near the tumor, so high doses can be administered even in areas where radiation was given previously. A CT scan built into the Trilogy IGRT system produces images immediately prior to treatment to ensure the exact location of the tumor.
• Patients can be treated over a much shorter period of time compared with conventional radiation therapy, resulting in greater comfort and convenience. On average, outpatient treatments last three to five days rather than the six weeks usually required for conventional radiotherapy.

The use of SBRT for tumors on or near the spine is a relatively new use of the treatment. “In the past, SBRT was used primarily to treat tumors in the brain,” says Dheerendra Prasad, MD, Director of Neuro- & Pediatric Radiation Medicine at Roswell Park, who will supervise the use of SBRT for spinal tumors. About 5% of all cancer patients have cancers that eventually spread to the spine, most involving multiple myeloma or breast or prostate cancer. Some of those patients will be ineligible for surgery due to other medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.

SBRT requires a large medical team with highly specialized expertise, including radiation physicists, dosimetrists, and medical technicians, who work together to determine the best plan for radiation delivery for each patient. “Roswell Park has invested significantly in the training of its technical staff to ensure that the new state-of-the-art technology will be applied safely and accurately,” notes Matthew Podgorsak, PhD, Chief Physicist at RPCI.

SBRT can also be used to treat tumors of the lung, liver, abdomen and pelvis. Researchers at RPCI are currently evaluating its effectiveness for the treatment of skull-base tumors, which often cannot be reached with other treatment methods.