Varian completes enrollment in clinical trial of Flash rad therapy

Radiation oncology vendor Varian and its research partner Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center have completed enrollment in a clinical trial testing Flash radiation therapy in humans.

Varian and Cincinnati Children's announced that they had met their enrollment goal of 10 patients in the FAST-01 (FeAsibility Study of FLASH Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Symptomatic Bone Metastases), a trial of Flash radiation therapy.

FAST-01 is evaluating the feasibility of the clinical workflow of Flash therapy, as well as treatment-related side effects, in patients with bone metastases in the extremities. The trial was designed by members of the FlashForward Consortium, which includes Varian, Cincinnati Children's, and the New York Proton Center, as well as others.

Flash therapy is an experimental radiation therapy technique that delivers radiation at ultrahigh dose rates, usually in less than one second. Proponents of Flash therapy believe it may be over 100 times faster versus conventional radiation therapy techniques.

Treatment of patients in FAST-01 began in November 2020, and researchers note that so far none of the participants have experienced any adverse events.