Researchers have said that low-dose chest radiation therapy could reduce lung inflammation in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
The researchers said the therapy could wean patients off a ventilator or avoid it altogether if given as a single treatment.
The radiotherapy works to offset an intense immune system reaction called “cytokine storm” that happens in a few patients with COVID, said Dr. Arnab Chakravarti, chair of radiation oncology at Ohio State University. When a cytokine storm occurs, the body starts attacking its own cells and tissues instead of fighting the virus.
Dr. Chakravarti is leading two clinical trials of low-dose chest radiotherapy. One test will be conducted on patients who are already on a ventilator and the other on patients who are on oxygen to try to prevent the need for a ventilator.
“Radiation at these low doses usually doesn’t have a direct antiviral effect but it does reduce inflammation,” Dr. Chakravarti said. “And when the inflammation is reduced, the acute [ill] effects of the byproducts of pneumonia also subside.”
Scientists at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute have also tested radiation therapy on five patients. Of which, three were taken off supplemental oxygen within 24 hours of the treatment, and one after 96 hours.
Researchers in Italy, Spain, Iran, and India have also been studying the treatment in COVID-19 patients.
The dose for COVID-19 patients “would be a little higher than the dose of a typical CT scan, but magnitudes lower than when it is used to treat lung cancer,” Dr. Chakravarti said. “At these very low doses, the treatment should be safe for most patients, but it really should be done in a clinical trial.”
Dr. William Small, chair of the Radiation Oncology Commission for the American College of Radiology, called radiotherapy “another tool to try,” stating he hopes to join the trials led by Dr. Chakravarti.
In April, researchers from Iran reviewed radiotherapy for COVID-19 in a radiation oncology journal. They warned, “There is limited knowledge about the interaction of low dose radiation therapy and viruses.” They cautioned that studies have reported the spread of some viruses after radiotherapy; however, those studies did not involve the novel coronavirus.
