New targeted radiation implant for brain tumors

We have plenty of segments planned for you, and I actually want to go ahead and bring in our first guest joining us here via Zoom, Dr. Brett Morris at the UW Health. And this is actually, I think, so fascinating as I've been reading and learning more about these radiation implants that you guys are starting to be able to use for patients that have brain tumors. Tell me a little bit more about this because it's so innovative, and I know it really starts the radiation treatment a lot sooner than they used to be able to. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for having me. We're really excited at UW Health to be able to offer this new technology called Gamma Tile. And what it does is it takes the treatment for brain tumors and combines two steps into a single procedure. Traditionally, we would do brain surgery followed by a two-week waiting process before we'd start what's called external beam radiation. GammaTile allows us to actually implant radioactive seeds into the resection cavity at the time of surgery, which helps deliver the radiation immediately following the surgery without that waiting period. Yeah. Again, I think that's got to be a relief for some of these patients who just probably want to be able to start the next round of treatment as soon as possible. And as you mentioned before, the option was kind of an external beam of radiation, which I know modern technology is amazing and you can try and get the exact location, but sometimes some healthy tissue also impacted by that. What's the difference now with GammaTile? Yeah, that's a great point. External radiation, as the name implies, comes from the outside and And so. Even with our technology being able to shape that radiation to the resection cavity, the radiation beam does pass through some normal, healthy brain tissue. By implanting these radioactive seeds, we're actually putting the radiation source at the area of highest risk, and then having that radiation source fall off as it moves away from the resection cavity, which allows us to spare radiation dose to those healthy brain tissues beyond. Yeah. And let me ask you then, obviously, when you have external beam radiation, that's something you have to go in to be treated for. With the GammaTile, does this kind of keep you out of the office, out of the treatment rooms a little bit longer and at home? Yeah, that's one of the hopes for this in that if a patient has a cancer that's spread to the brain and is undergoing surgical resection of that, hopefully the only treatment they would need to that resection cavity is GammaTile placement. For some primary brain tumors, we do do GammaTile combined with a shorter course of external beam radiation, but even that would shorten the course that patients need to come into the clinic to get these daily treatments. Yeah. How has it been going so far? I think you guys have been doing this a little over a month now. What's kind of some of the initial reaction from patients? You know it's been a great tool to be able to offer to patients. Our patients have been very excited about the prospect of getting their radiation at time of surgery and not having to add on additional radiation treatments. And as you said earlier it allows our patients to move on to that next step in their cancer journey that much sooner if they need systemic therapy or they need time to recover from surgery. There's not this need to do extra radiation. So our patients have been very happy so far and I think the cases have gone really, really well. Yeah. Unfortunately, not every patient is an excellent candidate for every treatment. So here are kind of who's the best candidate for the GammaTile. Yeah. I think one of the key things is that it takes a multidisciplinary team and a center of brain tumor excellence like we have here at UW Health to be able to offer this to the right patients. So when a patient comes in, we review their imaging, their pathology, their anatomy. with myself, our neurosurgery colleagues, our medical physics colleagues, and determine if we think this is an appropriate case that needs surgical resection and if GammaTile is the right option for them. There's a number of different factors that go into that. The ability to safely do the surgery without any anticipated tumor left behind is a key part. But I think what I would stress is that at a center like UW Health, we have the ability to offer all the latest technologies so that each treatment is an option for the correct patient here. Yeah, absolutely. I know for some people, you know, the biggest barrier in healthcare can be the cost. So I'm just curious with the patients so far that have been able to use this, does it seem like insurance is covering this the same way they would the external beam radiation? Yeah, excellent question. We do do a prior authorization before going to the operating room to make sure that this is covered by insurance up to the limit of an individual patient's care plan. You know, there are always some deductibles or co-pays that might be a part of that. But we don't want patients to be getting surprise bills for this new procedure that we're And I guess, too, I mean, speak a little bit more just to, I feel like as a patient, when you're going through something like a brain tumor, there's so many unknowns. You're already probably so nervous. You want to get this removed as quickly as possible so you can get back to your regular life. And it might not seem like a big deal to have to wait a couple of weeks for radiation. But again, I imagine being able to just start it almost immediately and continue on the path of recovery here. It's, I imagine, a huge deal to patients. Yeah, I think, you know, a lot of high quality academic centers pride themselves on not losing patients to follow up. The study that looked at gamma tile compared to post-surgery radiation treatment for cancer that is spread to the brain found that about 20% of patients who were on the post-surgery radiation arm didn't actually get their external beam radiation for a variety of And I think that stresses that, you know. We all pride ourselves on not losing patients and making sure patients make it through this journey, but things do come up, and GammaTile offers us the ability to get that radiation done right at the time of surgery without that possibility of being lost to follow-up. Right, you know you have that guarantee that they're getting the radiation that they need when they have the Gamma Tile. I imagine this has to be really cool for you as a doctor to get to, you know, be a part of these studies, to get to be working with new technology. What is that like for you in your career? Yeah, it's been really rewarding, and I'm very thankful to UW Health for being forward-thinking and, you know, being able to bring this to the state of Wisconsin and offer this to our patients here, I think just gives us another treatment modality to help improve the quality of life and the outcome for all of our brain tumor patients in this state. And so, you know, it's been very rewarding to sit on the forefront of all this technology and see the advances in in brain tumor care. Absolutely. And again, if anyone is maybe watching right now, whether they've been diagnosed with a brain tumor, whether it's a friend or a family member, and they want to learn more now about this treatment option, how can they go about learning more? Yeah. So I would encourage patients to go to the UW Health website and look at our cancer care intake process. There's a number on there that they can contact and request. They can self-refer for a consultation. And our neurosurgery colleagues and myself and my radiation colleagues will take a look at that case and see if this is the right treatment option for them. Absolutely. Again, I think it's so cool to know that this treatment is available here in Wisconsin just to see the advancements underway right now for those who have brain tumors. Certainly an encouraging addition and announcement here. So Dr. Morris, thanks so much for taking a few minutes to chat with us on Fox 6 Now. Thanks. I appreciate it.