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JERUSALEM — For the first time in Israel, neurosurgeons at the Hadassah Medical Organization, the Jerusalem-based medical center, used an innovative therapy involving intracranial alpha radiation to treat a patient with recurrent glioblastoma. Hadassah developed the therapy, called Alpha DaRT®, in collaboration with Alpha Tau Medical, an Israeli oncology therapeutics company, to treat aggressive cancers of the head and neck, pancreas, skin and lungs.
The procedure, part of a Phase 1 clinical trial of Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy), was led by Yigal Shoshan, MD, Director of Neurosurgery, Oncology and Stereotactic Radiosurgery at the Hadassah Medical Organization.
The preliminary results of the Phase 1 trial published so far in the United States have aroused great interest in the neuro-oncology community. They offer a new direction for a disease with extremely limited treatment options.
Alpha DaRT differs from existing radiation therapies in maximizing tumor destruction while minimizing harm to surrounding healthy tissue. The technology is based on the introduction of tiny sources that emit high-bioefficient alpha particles. Because the particles need travel only a short distance, the radiation is primarily concentrated in the tumor area, with minimal damage to nearby healthy brain tissue – a critical therapeutic advantage in such a sensitive organ.
Beyond Alpha DaRT’s localized effect, preclinical studies also suggest that the treatment may trigger an immune response to the tumor in other brain regions, a research area currently under active investigation.
"Alpha DaRT allows us to perform precise, minimally invasive treatment and avoid the need for extensive brain surgery,” said Dr. Shoshan. “The therapy integrates naturally into the neurosurgical navigation systems we use every day, so the same system that allows us to perform brain biopsies with millimeter accuracy allows us to insert the alpha sources into the center of the tumor with similar precision.”
The surgery was performed on a 77-year-old patient with recurrent glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive brain tumor in adults. It almost always recurs even after surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy.
To solve the technical challenge of covering as much of the patient’s large tumor as possible without sacrificing accuracy, Dr. Shoshan and his team implanted Alpha DaRT sources into the tumor through two separate trajectories simultaneously. This was the first time in the world a dual-trajectory approach had been used.
Approximately 14,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year according to the National Cancer Institute. Unfortunately, the disease recurs in the vast majority of patients even after surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The median survival period is 12 to 18 months, and only 5 to 7 percent of patients live for 5 years after their diagnosis, reports the Glioblastoma Research Organization.
In Israel, 150 to 250 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma annually, the median survival period is roughly 15 to 16 months, and only 10 percent of patients live for 5 years after their diagnosis.
For Hadassah’s research team, the successful operation was just the latest stage of a multi-year scientific journey that has moved from the laboratory to preclinical research to the development of the Alpha DaRT technology and its surgical application to the first clinical application in humans.
“Seeing the technology reach a patient in Israel for the first time was an exciting moment for everyone who has been part of this journey," said Dr. Shoshan.
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About the Hadassah Medical Organization:
The Hadassah Medical Organization is one of Israel's leading academic medical centers, combining world-class patient care with pioneering biomedical research and medical education. Owned by Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and affiliated with The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, the Hadassah Medical Organization serves as a major referral center for complex diseases while leading research and treatment advances in infectious diseases, precision medicine, transplantation, oncology and other specialties. Through its close integration of clinical care and research, the Hadassah Medical Organization helps translate scientific discoveries into improved treatments for patients in Israel and around the world. Visit us at hadassah.org/our-hospitals.
About Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America:
Hadassah is the largest Jewish women’s organization in America. With nearly 300,000 members, donors and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change on such critical issues as ensuring Israel’s security, combating antisemitism and promoting women’s health. Through the Hadassah Medical Organization, its Jerusalem-based hospital system, Hadassah helps support exemplary care for more than 1 million people each year and pioneering medical research. Hadassah’s hospitals serve without regard to race, religion or nationality and earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for "building bridges to peace" through medicine. Hadassah also supports two youth villages in Israel that set vulnerable teens and pre-teens on the path to a rewarding future. Visit us at hadassah.org.