There is new hope for patients with inoperable kidney cancer.

Lawson Health Research Institute joined 11 other centres from around the world, in a study examining a very precise, high-dose form of radiotherapy as a new treatment option.

Called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), the new treatment is showing signs of being effective and safe with a low rate of cancer recurrence and acceptable impact on renal function.

“This study suggests that the positive outcomes seen in our prior studies are long-lasting,” Lawson Scientist and Radiation Oncologist Dr. Rohann Correa said in a statement Wednesday. “It shows that this non-invasive treatment is worthy of further clinical study in patients with kidney cancer.”

Researchers recruited 190 patients, including some from the London Health Sciences Centre’s regional cancer program, who were diagnosed with primary renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. They then directed highly accurate and intense radiation to eradicate tumours while limiting the impact on surrounding tissues. They found, five years after the new treatment kidney function was largely maintained and only 5.5 per cent saw their cancer return.

“Our study has shown that at five years, this technique appears to be safe and effective, giving us confidence to launch clinical trials that provide patients access to this promising treatment,” said Correa.

SABR has been the subject of previous studies with encouraging results, but this is the first to examine long-term follow-up from a large, international group of patients.

The study was led by Dr. Shankar Siva, a radiation oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia. All international data was housed and analyzed through Lawson.

The results of the study have been published in The Lancet Oncology medical journal.