Case 1

Advanced Radiation Therapy Improves Local Tumor Control

A 52 year-old male patient was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma of L1.

Therapy

The expert panel’s decision for the best possible therapeutic success: tumor resection, dorsal stabilization, chemotherapy, and adjuvant proton therapy. In order to improve the success of radiation therapy, implants made of BlackArmor® Carbon/PEEK were used.

Anterior corpectomy and VBR with the KONG®-TL VBR System and dorsal percutaneous stabilization with the VADER® Pedicle System

With the artifact-free BlackArmor® Carbon/PEEK implants, proton therapy could be both planned and delivered with high precision. The material’s radiolucency enabled homogeneous application of the radiation dose in the tumor tissue. At the same time, the surrounding organs at risk were protected.

Six months after the intervention, the patient presents for follow-up with no complaints and no radiologically detectable recurrence.

BlackArmor® Carbon/PEEK enables optimized radiation therapy1Shi C. et al. (2022): Comprehensive Evaluation of Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) Spinal Hardware for Proton and Photon Planning. Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment. (PubMed, PMID: 35410544)2Krätzig T. et al. (2021): Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced PEEK versus Titanium Implants: An In Vitro Comparison of Susceptibility Artifacts in CT and MR Imaging. Neurosurgical Review. (PubMed, PMID: 32930911)3Müller BS. et al. (2020): The Dosimetric Impact of Stabilizing Spinal Implants in Radiotherapy Treatment Planning with Protons and Photons: Standard Titanium Alloy vs. Radiolucent Carbon-Riber-Reinforced PEEK Systems. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics. (PubMed, PMID: 32476247)4Klippel N. (2018): Dosimetric Impact of Titanium and Carbon Implants in Photon Therapy. Annual SSRMP Meeting.5Schmidhalter D. et al. (2020): Dosimetric Analysis of Spine SBRT in Case of CFR-PEEK Implants. Annual SASRO Meeting.6Ringel F. et al. (2017): Radiolucent Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Pedicle Screws for Treatment of Spinal Tumors: Advantages for Radiation Planning and Follow-Up Imaging. World Neurosurgery. (PubMed, PMID: 28478252)7Poel R. et al. (2020): Assessing the Advantages of CFR-PEEK over Titanium Spinal Stabilization Implants in Proton Therapy – A Phantom Study. Physics in Medicine and Biology. (PubMed, PMID: 32315991)and thus increases local tumor control. Due to the precise radiation application in the tumor area, the organs at risk are protected.1Shi C. et al. (2022): Comprehensive Evaluation of Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) Spinal Hardware for Proton and Photon Planning. Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment. (PubMed, PMID: 35410544)2Krätzig T. et al. (2021): Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced PEEK versus Titanium Implants: An In Vitro Comparison of Susceptibility Artifacts in CT and MR Imaging. Neurosurgical Review. (PubMed, PMID: 32930911)7Poel R. et al. (2020): Assessing the Advantages of CFR-PEEK over Titanium Spinal Stabilization Implants in Proton Therapy – A Phantom Study. Physics in Medicine and Biology. (PubMed, PMID: 32315991)

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