CLEVELAND, April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY) announced today the publication of a retrospective analysis of outcomes for the stereotactic treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer using precise, high-dose MRI-guided radiation therapy delivered with MRIdian's on-table adaptive dose planning system. The study, published in Cancer Medicine, and led by Soumon Rudra, M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, demonstrated enhanced overall survival while resulting in lower levels of toxicity compared to lower-dose, mostly non-adaptive treatment. These outcomes inspired the ongoing SMART trial, a multi-institutional prospective trial intended to assess the outcomes of this retrospective analysis further.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Wisconsin, the University of California Los Angeles, University of Miami, and Amsterdam University Medical Centers, pooled outcomes from 44 pancreatic cancer patients treated with the MRIdian system. About half of the patients were treated with high doses (greater than 70 Gy BED), often with on-table adaptive planning to improve normal tissue sparing and, in some instances, to increase the dose to the tumor. The other half of patients received lower doses (less than 70 Gy BED) and were less likely to have received on-table adaptive planning. The high-dose group showed overall survival at two years of 49 percent, versus 30 percent for the low-dose group. Importantly, no patient in the high-dose group experienced Grade 3 or higher acute toxicity, while 7 percent in the low-dose group experienced Grade 3 or 4 toxicity.

Pancreatic tumors and surrounding healthy organs and tissue can vary significantly in position and size from day to day. This variation can increase the risk of delivering therapeutic radiation that damages healthy tissues and organs. Daily MRI guidance enabled by MRIdian allows clinicians to assess the position of the target relative to sensitive organs and adjust the treatment plan at the moment of treatment in order to minimize radiation exposure to healthy tissues and allow for an increased dose to be delivered to the disease. The higher dose also provides for a shortened treatment course versus low dose therapy.
"The combination of on-table adaptive re-planning and real-time tracking and gating of tumor motion enables us to confidently deliver very high, potentially curative doses," said Percy Lee, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Education, and Director of the Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Locally advanced pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, and the outcomes noted in this retrospective study are better than expected and very encouraging. The features of the MRIdian system have a demonstrated potential to improve treatments for patients with many types of cancer."

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