Palliative Proton Spatially Fractionated (GRID) Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Unresectable or Metastatic Cancer
This phase I trial tests the safety and side effects of palliative proton spatially fractionated (GRID) radiotherapy in patients with cancer that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) or has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). In 2018, it was estimated that the United States cancer prevalence was about 14.5 million Americans, and this is expected to increase to approximately 19 million Americans by 2024. Metastatic or unresectable disease is the cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality for about 90% of cancer patients. Patients with cancer in need of symptom and suffering relief (palliation) can present with a variety of symptoms depending on the anatomical location of tumors. Radiotherapy is commonly used for symptom palliation. GRID radiotherapy is a specific way of planning the delivery of the radiation to create high-dose and low-dose areas to the tumor being treated. This has been done in the past using a type of radiation called photon beam radiation, which uses x-rays or gamma rays to treat the tumor. Photon beam radiation can also go through the tumor and damage non-cancerous tissue nearby and cause side effects. This trial is using a different kind of radiation called proton beam radiation, which uses a beam of protons to treat the tumor. The protons stop at the tumor rather than going through it, so it’s less likely to damage adjacent healthy tissues. Proton GRID radiotherapy may be a safe and effective way to deliver palliative radiotherapy to patients with unresectable or metastatic cancer.