Back in early July, Radiation Therapy News author Dr. Ana de Barros reported on how IsoRay, Inc. had announced its latest medical breakthrough — a treatment for brain tumors developed from metastatic esophageal cancer using liquid Cesium-131 (Cesitrex®), which was proven successful in recent clinical trials. Now, IsoRay has updated the news surrounding its Cesium-131 Isotope, announcing that the first major peer-reviewed study of its technology has been published, revealing that Cesium-131 seeds show superior results in treating metastatic brain cancer.
The new study was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neurosurgery, entitled, “Phase I/II study of resection and intraoperative cesium-131 radioisotope brachytherapy in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastases.” Dr. A. Gabriella Wernicke, a Radiation Oncologist, and Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz, a Neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell, served as two of the co-authors of the study, which noted that, “The use of post resection permanent Cesium-131 brachytherapy resulted in no local recurrences and no radiation necrosis” — a key finding for the company and its lead product.
The new study enrolled and followed 24 patients between the years of 2010 and 2012, following a median 19.3 month follow-up period. As part of the study, participants were implanted with stranded Cesium-131 seeds at the resection point of a brain metastasis. According to a company press release, the follow-up period of the study revealed that participants presented with 100% local (resection cavity) freedom from progression (FFP), as well as a 93.8% one-year regional FFP. Typically, metastatic brain cancer patients have a short, low survival rate. In the study, overall survival rate at one year was 50%. IsoRay points out that, “the excellent local control of the surgically removed and Cesium-131 treated brain tumor — along with the lack of significant complications and the improved quality of life compared to other radiation therapy approaches — represents an important step forward in managing these difficult cases.”
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Dwight Babcock, the CEO of IsoRay, commented that, “Commercialization requires published studies, like this one, that are peer reviewed, providing patients and family members with new insights into technological advances being made to treat these dreaded diseases. Leaders in the medical arena recognize and rely on the reported results in such publications, providing a means to stay abreast of these new and powerful weapons now available in the battle against cancer. As with this latest publication on metastatic brain cancers, I believe Cesium-131 is now a proven solution that can meet patient needs.”
The news joins a previous report that Cesium-131 had been successfully used as a treatment in Peru For an inoperable brain tumor in a young child.
