Australian trial of internal radiation therapy targets the ‘hidden killer’ implicated in many bowel cancer deaths

Patients with bowel cancer that has spread to their liver will be the focus of a national clinical trial of a revolutionary Australian therapy that targets tumours with a dose of internal radiation 40 times higher than conventional radiotherapy.

“Liver tumours are a serious and common problem for the 13,000 Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer each year – up to half of them will develop liver cancer, so we need treatments that effectively target liver tumours,” said Dr Peter Gibbs from Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, who will lead the trials.The trials will use Selective Internal Radiation Therapy or SIRT (sert), a highly targeted treatment for advanced secondary liver cancer that has already shown significant results in fighting liver tumours, prolonging patient survival, and enhancing quality of life. “We’ve had very promising results using Selective Internal Radiation Therapy, in which millions of tiny radioactive spheres called SIR-Spheres microspheres are injected via a catheter into the liver. They deliver a very high, targeted dose of radiation to the tumours, but spare the healthy tissue. “Some patients have had their liver tumours disappear completely after selective internal radiation therapy. In other patients, their tumours have significantly reduced in size and number – sometimes to the point that surgery can be performed – offering them a very real chance of long-term survival.” Secondary liver cancer is a hidden killer that is the ultimate cause of death for around one in three cancer patients, including those who die of bowel cancer, and has long posed a difficult problem for the medical profession around the world. It is fatal in 95% of cases. Unlike many other primary tumours, bowel cancer often only spreads to the liver, and a targeted treatment such as SIRT is a very promising option for these patients, according to Dr Gibbs.Liver tumours usually develop deep within the organ. By the time they are detected, their size, number or location make surgery or local destruction of isolated tumours impossible in around 90 per cent of cases. Although modern chemotherapy has shown some survival benefits, this is often short-lived. Dr Gibbs said there is a clear medical need for more effective first-line therapy for secondary liver cancer that has a long lasting effect on the cancer and is well tolerated with short-lived side-effects, ultimately providing longer life and better quality of life for patients. To be undertaken in major capital cities, the trial will combine SIRT with the latest chemotherapy regimen and compare this treatment with patients receiving chemotherapy alone. The first patients are expected to be treated in December.People interested in participating can register their interest with Sirtex Medical Limited at www.sirtex.com. For the first time, researchers will also trial SIRT with pancreatic cancer patients who develop liver tumours, in a smaller trial to be conducted later this year in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Up to 2000 Australians are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year; 50% will develop secondary liver cancer. Issued on behalf of Sirtex Medical Limited by Moore Public Relations.For further information, including a detailed fact sheet on SIRT and liver cancer, please contact Carol Moore on (02) 9560 2826 or 0402 382 363 or Mardi Stewart on 0402 231 142.