Boston Scientific links liver cancer device to improved survival

MedTech News: Boston Scientific announced positive data from a study of the TheraSphere at the annual scientific meeting for the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).

The global, retrospective TARGET study evaluated the safety and efficacy of TheraSphere therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – the most common type of primary liver cancer – using a dosing method known as multicompartment dosimetry, which maximises the dose of Y-90 reaching the tumour while minimising the radiation dose that reaches normal liver tissue.

“The TARGET study findings create the opportunity for future TheraSphere treatment optimisation and Y-90 dose escalation without compromising safety,” said Prof. Marnix G.E.H. Lam, M.D., Professor of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands and one of the principal investigators of the TARGET study. “The study results are also generalisable and easily replicated as we included a global patient population with a wide spectrum of early, intermediate and advanced HCC.”

Data from TARGET also demonstrated a correlation between the level of radiation absorbed by the tumor and an increase in survival probability through three years – with a median overall survival of 20.3 months.

“TARGET adds to the robust body of evidence supporting TheraSphere as a safe and effective treatment option for the hundreds of thousands of patients around the world that are diagnosed with HCC each year,” said Peter Pattison, president of Interventional Oncology, Peripheral Interventions, Boston Scientific. “These study insights and the Simplicit⁹⁰Y software provide physicians the opportunity to develop a personalized dosing approach for their patients with the potential to improve tumour response and optimise outcomes.”

TheraSphere, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this month, is the only radioembolisation technology in the U.S. indicated for the treatment of unresectable HCC.

Days after Boston Scientific shared news of its approval, Sirtex, a leading manufacturer of targeted liver cancer therapies, announced plans of a HCC clinical trial to start recruiting in the second quarter of this year.