Lattice therapy can help target tumors
Rio Grande Valley, Texas news station highlights UC research
Rio Grande Valley, Texas news station KRGV-TV highlighted University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researcher Andrew Frankart's new trial testing lattice therapy to provide more targeted radiation for patients with large tumors.
Lattice therapy is a technique where certain parts of tumors are preferentially targeted with higher doses of radiation compared to other areas.
"Right now, with radiation, we're more restricted to moderate doses that can help relieve symptoms and provide a temporary effect, but may not be sufficient dosing to provide a lasting impact or to control the tumor itself," Frankart, MD, a Cancer Center physician researcher and assistant professor of radiation oncology in UC’s College of Medicine, told KRGV. "The difference with lattice therapy is it's still using that arc to generate a plan, but we're purposefully making spheres or circles of higher dose within the target."
A five-year, $729,000 American Cancer Society/American Society for Radiation Oncology Clinician Scientist Development Grant is supporting the translation of Frankart’s initial findings into clinical practice through the clinical trial, which is expected to enroll 37 adult patients and analyze the underlying biology of tumor and immune responses to lattice therapy radiation.
“We’re focusing on patients who have large or bulky tumors. The approach is more based upon where it’s located and how large it is, and those are things that have previously prevented radiation from being as effective,” Frankart said. “Using this new approach to overcome some of those barriers hopefully means it can benefit more patients because we’re broadly including multiple disease sites.”
Read or watch the KRGV-TV story.
Featured photo at top of Frankart in a radiation treatment room. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
Related Stories
CCM welcomes Sekyung Jang as Assistant Professor of Music Therapy
June 12, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Sekyung Jang, PhD, as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Music Therapy. Her faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026, and Jang will work with college leadership to develop a new program in Music Therapy at CCM in partnership with UC's College of Medicine and the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Jang is an educator, scholar and music therapist passionate about fostering a culture of learning in which students feel safe to explore new ideas, make mistakes, and freely and respectfully receive and give feedback. Jang’s teaching is characterized by a balanced combination of lectures, experiential learning opportunities, and discussion-based instruction that helps students integrate theory and practice.
Taking a second look at surgery eligibility for patients with lung cancer who smoke
June 11, 2026
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications, but their short-term mortality rate is similar to patients who were able to stop smoking before surgery.. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of. American College of Surgeons
Pocket-sized population threat
June 10, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.