The Department of Radiation Oncology at Cleveland Clinic is also at the cutting edge of research in pioneering the use of several specialized lymphoma radiotherapy treatment techniques. For certain types of indolent lymphomas, the use of radio-labeled antibodies as a form of experimental "systemic radiotherapy" is under evaluation. Several different antibodies bound to several different isotopes have been used in clinical trials at Cleveland Clinic.
The advantage of this approach, as opposed to the brachytherapy programs, is that the "targeted radiotherapy" can be injected into the circulation and allowed to localize simultaneously in many different sites of disease involvement. Although the exact level of clinical effectiveness for this sort of radiotherapy treatment will vary depending on the case, 50% or more of patients who receive this sort of radiotherapy treatment will demonstrate a good clinical response even for fairly advanced cases. It is expected that FDA clearance will be granted soon for one or more of these agents.
