Benzinga | Nov 19, 2020 08:28AM EST

Varian And Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center Announce Initial Patient Treated In FAST-01 First Human Clinical Trial Of FLASH Therapy For Cancer

- First patient in the world to participate in a clinical trial of FLASH therapy

- Physicians and researchers at Cincinnati's Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center are using a Varian ProBeam(r) proton therapy system modified to deliver radiation treatment at ultra-high dose rates

- FLASH therapy delivers radiation at ultra-high dose rates up to 100 times faster compared to conventional radiation therapy

- Study was designed in collaboration with the FlashForwardTM Consortium

PALO ALTO, Calif., and CINCINNATI, Ohio, Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian (NYSE:VAR) and the Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center today announce the start of the first clinical trial of FLASH therapy as part of the recently opened FAST-01 study (FeAsibility Study of FLASH Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Symptomatic Bone Metastases). The clinical trial involves the investigational use of Varian's ProBeam(r) particle accelerator modified to enable radiation therapy delivery at ultra-high dose rates (dose delivered in less than 1 second) and is being conducted at the Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center with John C. Breneman M.D., Medical Director of the center, serving as principal investigator.