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Are there any trials currently studying low-dose RT for confirmed COVID-19 infections with associated pneumonia?

Would you consider it off-trial during the pandemic? There is some older data for treatment of pneumonia with single-fraction low-dose radiotherapy, with recent editorials and reviews: How Radiotherapy Was Historically Used To Treat Pneumonia: Could It Be Useful Today? Is low dose radiation therapy a potential treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia?
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Would you consider implementing low-dose RT for COVID-19 associated pneumonia?

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3 Answers
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Radiation Oncology · Florida International University
Answered on

This is a joint reply from a team developing a prospective trial to answer this question:

Minesh Mehta, Arnab Chakravarti, Walter Curran Jr, James Fontanesi, Vinai Gondi, Michael Kasper, Deepak Khuntia, Rupesh Kotecha, Ramesh Rengan, Leland Rogers, Charles B. Simone II, James Welsh, George Wilson

This...

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Radiation Oncology · Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Answered on

It's tempting to jump on the hypothesis that the lethality of COVID-19 stems from the body's over-reaction and self-destruction in response to the virus, and that by simply reducing the body's over response we will reduce mortality. In this case, using low dose radiation to reduce inflammatory cytok...

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Radiation Oncology · Radiation Oncology Associates PA
Answered on

Thanks for posting this great question. We have very old data from the pre-antibiotic era (1905-1940s) using less reliable orthovoltage-type therapy. Total N>700 and there are data for treating viral pneumonias. But with the advent of penicillin, the atomic bombs dropped in WWII, and concern re: lat...

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