The radiotherapy system uses PET tracer signals to track tumor movement in real-time, adjusting radiation delivery to improve targeting and minimize exposure to healthy tissue.
Summary
Beverly Hills Cancer Center has installed a radiotherapy system that adjusts treatment in real-time based on tumor movement, making it the first freestanding cancer center to integrate this technology. The system uses PET tracer signals to track tumor activity and guide radiation delivery, differing from conventional radiotherapy, which relies on static imaging. The installation comes as Medicare prepares to expand reimbursement for the treatment in 2025, introducing new billing codes for freestanding cancer centers and outpatient departments. Physicians at Beverly Hills Cancer Center worked with Select Healthcare Solutions to integrate the system into their treatment offerings.
Key Takeaways
- Freestanding Cancer Center Adopts Tumor-Tracking Radiotherapy System – Beverly Hills Cancer Center has installed a system that adjusts radiation treatment in real-time based on PET tracer signals.
- New Technology Aims to Improve Radiation Targeting – The system tracks tumor movement during treatment, allowing radiation to be delivered more precisely while limiting exposure to healthy tissue.
- Medicare Expands Reimbursement for Freestanding Cancer Centers – New CMS billing codes for 2025 will provide reimbursement for this technology in freestanding cancer centers and outpatient departments.
RefleXion Medical, a theranostic oncology company, today announced the scheduled installation of its RefleXion X1 platform with SCINTIX biology-guided radiotherapy at Beverly Hills Cancer Center, the first freestanding cancer center that has installed the RefleXion X1.
The RefleXion X1 machine with SCINTIX therapy is designed to use biology guidance to precisely treat one or more targets within the same treatment session. Early clinical cases have demonstrated that when the tumor moves, SCINTIX therapy autonomously shifts the radiation dose to follow the tumor, thereby safely delivering radiation to the tumor target while sparing radiation exposure to healthy tissue.
“At [Beverly Hills Cancer Center], we are committed to advancing cancer care by integrating the latest innovations, ensuring our patients receive the highest quality, cutting-edge treatments,” says Arash (Ari) Gabayan, MD, chief of radiation oncology and imaging at Beverly Hills Cancer Center. “We are excited to be amongst the first centers in the world to offer our patients this breakthrough technology, which uses the inherent biology of the patient’s tumor to precisely direct the radiation beam to its tumor target.
Beverly Hills Cancer Center physicians consulted with Select Healthcare Solutions, a provider of turn-key medical technology solutions to independent physician groups, to integrate SCINTIX therapy into its comprehensive range of cancer treatment options.
SCINTIX therapy uses signals emitted from a patient’s cancer cells to direct radiation treatment. Patients receive an injection of a small amount of a unique molecule, called a PET tracer, which the cancer cells consume. The X1 detects the signals produced in real-time and uses those to determine where to deliver the radiation dose. In contrast, conventional radiotherapy uses static images of anatomy to guide treatment delivery.
CMS Reimbursement
Beginning in 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will expand reimbursement for SCINTIX therapy, introducing new billing codes for freestanding cancer centers and professional reimbursement for physicians in both freestanding cancer centers and hospital outpatient departments.
“We are encouraged that CMS has expanded reimbursement for freestanding cancer centers like BHCC as this supports clinicians who advance clinical adoption of new technologies and treatments,” says Todd Powell, president and CEO of RefleXion, in a release.
The RefleXion X1 received FDA marketing clearance on March 13, 2020, for stereotactic body radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and intensity modulated radiotherapy.
Photo caption: Beverly Hills Cancer Center
Photo credit: RefleXion
