UC Cancer Center, Varian complete Flash radiotherapy trial enrollment
FAST-02 study targets painful bone metastases in the thoracic region
Emily Daugherty, MD. Photo/University of Cincinnati.
Yahoo Finance highlighted Varian's announcement of the successful completion of enrollment and treatment in the FAST-02 clinical trial targeting painful bone metastases in the thoracic region with Flash radiotherapy at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. Completion of enrollment represents a significant step toward bringing this investigational radiotherapy treatment into clinical practice.
The trial was conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital/UC Medical Center Proton Therapy Center and enrolled 10 participants. It focused on evaluating treatment-related side effects and the efficacy of treatment, which was assessed using trial participants' reported pain relief.
Flash therapy delivers treatment at ultra-high dose rates in typically less than one second — over 100 times faster than conventional radiation therapy — and has demonstrated potential in preclinical studies to reduce damage to surrounding healthy tissues while maintaining effective tumor control.
The trial builds upon findings from the FAST-01 trial, which evaluated clinical workflow feasibility of Flash therapy and treatment-related side effects for participants with bone metastases in the extremities.
The trial is led by principal investigator John Perentesis, MD, Cancer Center senior advisor, research director of the Proton Therapy Center and director of oncology and cancer programs at Cincinnati Children’s, and lead co-investigator Emily Daugherty, MD, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center physician researcher and adjunct associate professor in UC's College of Medicine.
"Completing treatments for FAST-02 is a pivotal and progressive step in our effort to establish the safety and effectiveness of Flash radiotherapy," Perentesis said. "This trial helps lay the groundwork needed to move Flash into more advanced clinical settings — an innovation that could redefine radiation oncology and meaningfully improve patient outcomes."
UC's FLASH program was initiated by John Breneman, MD, professor emeritus in the Department of Radiation Oncology in UC's College of Medicine. Anthony Mascia, PhD, associate professor in UC's College of Medicine, serves as lead physicist.
Read the Yahoo Finance article, originally published in the Varian newsroom.
Featured photo at top of a mock patient at a treatment gantry in the Proton Therapy Center. Photo/Cincinnati Children's.
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