University Hospitals Department of Radiation Oncology Thrives with Proliferation of New Technologies and Therapeutic Approaches, Revolutionizing Patient Care

Innovations in Research

Rapid advances in imaging technology, computational processing power, artificial intelligence and greater biological understanding of cancer are revolutionizing radiation oncology, enabling more individualized treatment approaches to optimize patient outcomes.

The Department of Radiation Oncology at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center is at the forefront of this growing and exciting field, not only in establishing national and international radiation oncology guidelines, but in undertaking multinational research to redefine standard of care by implementing the latest advances in clinical practice.

The most state-of-the-art research leverages genomic and artificial intelligence (AI) based biomarkers to enable greater precision in risk stratification of prostate cancer patients, allowing physicians to more accurately determine individual patient prognosis and treatment responses. Researchers are also making strides to more effectively personalize breast, head and neck, and anal cancer treatment based on newly identified biomarkers.

Medical physicists and physician scientists are likewise helping to develop and advance new forms of radiation therapy, including online adaptive radiotherapy, which allows for real-time adjustments to radiation therapy for improved clinical precision, and theranostics, or radiopharmaceutical therapy, which uses radioisotopes to combine diagnostic imaging and therapeutic treatment.

“We are on a collective mission to improve the outcomes of cancer patients globally. So, it is part of our clinical responsibility to embrace research to help our patients,” says Daniel Spratt, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UH Cleveland Medical Center, and Professor of Radiation Oncology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He holds the Vincent K. Smith Chair in Radiation Oncology at UH Seidman Cancer Center and was recently appointed UH Clinical Research Center Medical Director and Associate Chief Scientific Officer.

Multidisciplinary Approach to Research and Medicine Drives Radiation Oncology Innovation

The strength of the radiation oncology research program at University Hospitals lies in its ability to open and lead very novel, complex, multidisciplinary trials in rapid fashion, which has drawn substantial increases in government and foundation funding, says Dr. Spratt. The research leverages clinical and research collaborations across University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and industry partnerships around novel technologies and therapies.

 “We have vast high-impact research programs that range from basic science and translational research that focuses on the mechanistic causes of cancer and ways to treat it, as well as prognostic and predictive biomarkers that leverage genomic data, liquid biopsy information, and digital pathology for AI-based biomarkers,” says Dr. Spratt.

The research program’s extensive and rapidly expanding clinical trials portfolio, includes combinatorial studies to examine the effects of adding radiation therapy to novel drug combinations, and other studies evaluating novel applications of radiation therapy. This includes the first trial in the world to combined stereotactic body radiotherapy with 177-Lutetium PSMA radionuclide therapy for men with non-metastatic prostate cancer.

At University Hospitals, clinicians and scientists in radiation oncology have access to the latest radiation imaging technology, including multiple research treatment devices in shielded environments that help researchers advance the testing, development and validation of various technologies in radiation oncology.  UH Seidman Cancer Center is also one of the first in North America to offer Varian Ethos 2.0 for cancer patients to receive a new form of radiotherapy called online adaptive radiotherapy, which can be used to treat lung, prostate, breast, kidney, pancreatic, liver, head and neck, bladder, gynecologic and anal cancers.

Growth within the radiation oncology department has included the recruitment of 22 researchers and physicians within the last three years.

Expansive Research Cultivates New Therapies and Technologies, Widens Applications

Key research initiatives underway involve the development, training, validation and clinical adoption of biomarkers used to target and personalize cancer treatment. Dr. Spratt and his research team were the first to develop and validate a predictive biomarker to identify which prostate patients will or will not benefit from hormone therapy. Dr. Spratt’s research centers on the development and validation of prognostic and predictive biomarkers used to personalize treatment of cancer patients while avoiding over- and under-treatment.

“New and continued research will also examine novel technologies and radiotherapy approaches, including theranostics and adaptive radiotherapy,” says Dr. Spratt. Use of adaptive radiotherapy has led to numerous clinical trials and technological development from our team.

Recently, radiation oncologists partnered with urologists at University Hospitals to successfully treat a patient with kidney cancer abutting the intestine with a single treatment of adaptive radiosurgery, something that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish previously.  

Under the leadership of Lauren Henke, MD, Director of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, Alex Price, PhD, DABR, Lead Adaptive Physicist, and Rojano Kashani, PhD, Director of Physics and Dosimetry, numerous patients with complex pancreatic cancer have also been treated with adaptive radiology. Dr. Henke is also performing adaptive radiation to target the celiac plexus, a common source of severe intractable cancer pain.

“Thanks to our research with the adaptive radiation therapy program, we now have successfully and expanded the role of this treatment modality to many different novel indications,” says Dr. Spratt.  “The work our team has done has already changed the way people practice,” says Dr. Spratt.