Kettering Health is the first provider in the Dayton region to offer GammaTile® Therapy. This FDA-cleared, Surgically Targeted Radiation Therapy (STaRT) device contains titanium radiation sources. The device is a square “tile” implanted in the brain immediately following tumor removal surgery.

The tiles administer radiation to prevent new cancer cells from forming and to attack any lingering tumor cells. Once the tiles administer the therapeutic dose, they dissolve into the surrounding tissue.

“With the use of GammaTile, we are seeking to control recurrent brain tumors in a more long-lasting way than we can with surgery alone,” said Dr. Anthony Parvati. “If a tumor recurrence develops, the delivery of high dose radiation, in the highly conformal way that GammaTile affords us, is very attractive from a safety and efficacy point of view.”

Previously, patients with recurrent operable brain tumors had surgery to remove the tumor. A second course of radiation therapy, with or without chemotherapy, potentially followed surgery. The GammaTiles deliver radiotherapy from the inside as the patient lives their daily life, eliminating the need for radiation appointments. Thus far, patients receiving GammaTile have tolerated the therapy quite well.

“We are proud to be the first to offer this therapy in the greater Dayton region,” said Dr. Mark Hoeprich. “GammaTile provides us one more arrow in our quiver to help our patients fight brain tumors with all the most advanced available options of a comprehensive cancer center right here in Dayton.”