Skin Cancer Treatment Trials Open

Bassett Seeking Participants

By TERESA WINCHESTER
COOPERSTOWN

To the uninitiated observer, it looks like voodoo. Thin metal cylinders, about 3 inches long, stuck around a dark circle in an inflated, rectangular piece of fabric, the color of flesh. But it’s not voodoo. It’s potentially life-saving science. In this case, it is Dr. Timothy Korytko, radiation oncologist-in-chief at Bassett’s Cancer Institute in Cooperstown, demonstrating how a trial treatment for recurrent or unresectable skin cancer is administered.

“Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers. It is sometimes treated with simple surgery. This study is looking to treat cancers where there are limited other options,” Korytko said.

The treatment is called “Alpha DaRT,” which stands for “Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy.” In May 2023, Bassett Healthcare Network announced its selection as a clinical trial site for Alpha DaRT.

“The clinical trial (aka Alpha DaRT) received regulatory approval to proceed with patient enrollment, hence we could open the trial,” Dr. Korytko stated in an e-mail communication.

Bassett is one of two Alpha DaRT trial sites in New York State, the other being Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

On its website, Bassett quotes Uzi Sofer, chief executive officer of Alpha Tau, the company which has developed Alpha DaRT, as saying, “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.”
According to an e-mail sent to Iron String Press by Marna Davis of the Antenna Group, a global marketing communications firm working for Alpha Tau, there is special interest in conducting these trials in rural areas.

“The local issue,” Davis wrote, “is that patients from ‘rural’ areas such as Otsego County only make up 13 percent of clinical trial populations compared to patients from urban areas. This leads to healthcare disparities, with information used to develop important medical advancements primarily coming from people who live in large cities.”

Dr. Korytko acknowledged the challenge of pursuing medical treatment in rural areas.

“Patients and resources are spread out,” he said.

The 2023 announcement described the distinguishing qualities of Alpha DaRT, stating that whereas local radiation has mostly used beta or gamma ray emissions, Alpha DaRT is the first localized anticancer therapy to use alpha particles to treat solid tumors. Having a limited range, alpha particles have the potential to kill targeted cancerous cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissues, the announcement also said.

The cylinders, technically referred to as “sources,” are removed from the patient’s body after the dose of radiation has largely been delivered. There is minimal radioactive exposure and no need for hospitalization, according to Bassett’s web page on Alpha DaRT.

According to Dr. Korytko, the sources usually stay in the targeted area for about two weeks. Patients are generally able to wear clothing as normal and continue their daily routine while being treated by Alpha DaRT.

Bassett Cancer Institute is currently recruiting and enrolling participants in the Alpha DaRT trial. Enrollees are not limited to the eight-county Bassett network or even to New York State.

“Anyone from anywhere can enroll,” Korytko said, adding that the program currently has two participants.

The trial’s sponsor, Alpha Tau Medical, is a company founded in 2016 by Sofer to develop and commercialize the Alpha DaRT treatment. The procedure was invented by Professors Itzhak Kelson and Yona Keisari from Tel Aviv University. According to its website, Alpha Tau has offices in Jerusalem and Massachusetts and is conducting trials at 27 sites worldwide—two in Israel, 20 in the U.S., one in Italy, and two in France.

The Alpha Tau website also states the following:

• Some advantages of Alpha DaRT include treating a limited range of cells, thus sparing surrounding tissues, as well as potential stimulation of an immune response to the primary tumor.
• This immune re-sponse may possibly be harnessed to destroy metastases throughout the body.
• Alpha DaRT offers lower levels of exposure to radiation, thereby reducing the radiation risk or need for radiation safety measures for both patients and physicians.
• Alpha Tau has developed “proprietary ultra-minimally invasive applicators that can be utilized for various types of tumors within different anatomic areas.”
• Lower treatment cost is another advantage of Alpha DaRT because its applicators are disposable and the treatment does not require significant capital equipment or special shielding.

Alpha Tau sees potential application of Alpha DaRT in all solid tumors, stating that, to date, in its pre-clinical studies across multiple types of tumors, “no tumor has been found to be completely resistant to Alpha DaRT.”

Anyone interested in participating in the Alpha DaRT skin cancer trials should contact Bassett specialists at (877) 547-1750, or e-mail cancerclinicaltrials@bassett.org.

More information on the treatment may be found https://www.bassett.org/services/cancer-care/radiation-therapy/alpha-dart or at https://www.alphatau.com/alpha-dart-radiotherapy.