Bassett Cancer Institute to offer new treatments
May 1—Bassett Healthcare Network announced Monday it has been selected as a clinical trial site for Alpha DaRT, an investigational treatment for recurrent skin cancers. Bassett Cancer Institute has received regulatory approval to conduct the trial and is the only site statewide outside New York City, according to a Bassett media release.
Alpha DaRT "is designed to deliver a highly potent radiation treatment for solid cancer tumors," the release said. While local radiation therapy has been a mainstay of cancer therapy for years, it has been mostly limited to modalities using beta or gamma emissions. Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy) is the first localized anticancer therapy to "leverage the specific therapeutic properties of alpha particles to treat solid tumors," the release said.
Due to the inherent limited range of the alpha particles, the Alpha DaRT technology, directly inserted into a tumor, has the potential to kill cancerous cells with localized precision without damaging surrounding healthy tissues, according to the release.
"We are proud to be chosen as the first clinical trial site for Alpha DaRT statewide outside of New York City," said Dr. Timothy Korytko, chief radiation oncologist at Bassett Healthcare Network. "Bassett Cancer Institute's full team of nationally accredited medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists, as well as oncology-certified registered nurses, provide the highest standard of care to our patients in Central New York State and beyond."
"Bassett is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of the people and the region we serve. Bringing advanced care to our rural communities is central to our mission," said Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, president and CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network. "We are honored to join an esteemed group of healthcare institutions nationwide as a clinical trial site for a promising treatment option."
"Bassett Healthcare Network was chosen as one of the select U.S. centers to enroll patients in this pivotal clinical trial because of its outstanding reputation. We are excited to collaborate with Dr. Korytko and his team to explore this new treatment option," said Uzi Sofer, CEO of Alpha Tau Medical LTD.
According to the release, Bassett also recently began offering radiopharmaceutical treatments with two new therapies: Lutathera, a pharmaceutical radiation therapy that can improve outcomes for patients with neuroendocrine cancer, and Pluvicto, a targeted treatment for metastatic prostate cancer.
