TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with superficial cutaneous and soft tissue malignancies, minibeam radiotherapy (MBRT), delivering alternating submillimeter high-dose peak and low-dose valley regions using orthovoltage X-rays, is well tolerated, with symptomatic benefits, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Kiran K. Chauhan, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues reported use of MBRT for patients with superficial cutaneous and soft tissue malignancies from a single institution. A total of 36 patients with 46 lesions were treated; 85 percent received MBRT alone. Patients were followed for a median of 15.1 months.
The researchers found that the median peak and valley doses were 25.9 and 3.4 Gy per fraction, respectively, with a median of two fractions. Patients were heavily pretreated, with 90 percent having received two or more prior systemic therapies and 43 percent having received prior radiation. Overall, 86 percent had symptomatic improvement. Complete response, partial response, and stable disease occurred in 22.5, 25, and 45 percent of the 40 evaluable lesions. Twelve-month local progression was 11 percent overall and 8 percent for MBRT alone. In 11 percent, documented abscopal responses occurred without systemic therapy changes. Sixty-one percent had grade 1 to 2 dermatitis; there were two grade 3 adverse events in patients with baseline tissue compromise.
"What's encouraging is that patients were able to tolerate these higher radiation doses, even though many had cancers that had resisted previous treatments," co-first author Michael Grams, Ph.D., also from the Mayo Clinic, said in a statement.
One author disclosed ties to Nuveta Radiotherapy; two authors hold pending patents related to minibeam radiation therapy.
