AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute First in Florida to be Recognized as a GammaTile Center of Excellence

In recognition of its commitment to advancing clinical management of brain tumors, the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute was recently named as Florida’s first GammaTile Center of Excellence. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), GammaTile delivers brain brachytherapy using a bioabsorbable collagen implant embedded with low-dose-rate radiation sources. GammaTiles are placed immediately after completion of brain tumor removal surgery to provide timely, localized radiation treatment.

The FDA first approved GammaTile in 2018 for treatment of recurrent brain tumors, including recurrent glioblastomas, meningiomas, and brain metastases. In 2020, the FDA expanded this indication to include any newly diagnosed malignant brain tumors. 

In 2021, AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists became the first physicians in Central Florida to utilize GammaTile, and in 2022, achieved an ELITE status designation. Since program inception, they have successfully completed over 61 GammaTile procedures at the AdventHealth Orlando campus.

Limitations and Challenges of Traditional Radiation Therapy for Malignant Brain Tumors
While a combination of surgery and subsequent radiation therapy has been the standard of care for most brain malignancies, this approach comes with challenges:

• Traditional radiation therapies require a healing period of at least two weeks after neurosurgery, during which time residual tumor cells may already begin to proliferate.
• External beam radiotherapy must travel through healthy uninvolved brain tissue as it’s being delivered to the intended target location, which can lead to side effects like hair loss, fatigue and neurocognitive decline.

GammaTile was developed to help counter these shortcomings.

How GammaTile Therapy Works
An individual unit of GammaTile consists of 4 cesium-131 radioactive seeds embedded in a bioresorbable collagen matrix approximately the size of a postage stamp. The treatment team customizes each GammaTile application by utilizing the appropriate number of tiles based on the anticipated surface area of the surgical cavity. These tiles are then applied to the tumor bed immediately after a patient’s tumor is resected. Each tile lasts approximately 6 weeks before the treatment is fully delivered, at which time cesium sources become essentially inert, and the biodegradable collagen matrix is naturally absorbed into the body.

GammaTile’s placement at the time of surgery eliminates any delay in receiving radiation treatment. Additionally, because radiation is delivered continuously for the 6-week period, patients also avoid having to travel to an outpatient radiation therapy clinic for multiple treatment sessions. GammaTile targets remaining cancer cells when they are most vulnerable, which helps to prevent regrowth. Furthermore, by delivering radiation from inside the tumor cavity, GammaTile prevents undesirable irradiation of healthy uninvolved tissues, which helps minimize side effects of treatment.

“It is extremely focal,” shares AdventHealth Radiation Oncologist Imran Mohiuddin, MD, PhD. “With GammaTile, we can do an excellent job of delivering a very high dose of radiation specifically to the problem areas while sparing healthy brain tissue that is only millimeters away. In general, this translates to higher rates of cure while also sparing patients from difficult side effects of treatment, such as brain damage or hair loss.”

AdventHealth Neurosugeon Melvin Field, MD, concurs. “This innovation provides our patients a head-start in the fight against brain tumors. GammaTile is uniquely helpful because it begins working immediately after placement into the brain. The patient does not have to wait to heal from surgery before beginning radiation. We can immediately and precisely target cancer-involved tissue.”

For more information, visit  Neuro Oncology | AdventHealth.