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Israeli researchers say they have successfully treated a prostate cancer patient by using alpha-radiation.
The ground-breaking treatment was developed by Jerusalem-based Alpha Tau Medical using technology it calls Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy), which has been used in clinical trials for the treatment of patients with skin cancer, breast cancer, and oral cavity cancer with promising results.
The company’s CEO, Uzi Sofer said: “This is the first time that we are treating an internal organ – the prostate – and that will give us a very, very good sign of [treating] internal organs”.
The Alpha DaRT is designed as a neoadjuvant therapy, a treatment given to shrink a tumour before the main surgery to remove it. The treatment involves injecting solid cancer tumours with radioactive substances that release alpha radiation, breaking down the DNA of cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.
The procedure is based on technology developed in 2003 by Prof. Yona Keisari and Prof. Itzhak Kelson at Tel Aviv University.
