On February 25, 2017, at 2017 SEAAPM Symposium & Scientific Meeting in Charleston, SC, Dr. Mark Oldham (Radiation Oncology) and his co-authors received 2017 Paper of the Year Award for “X-Ray Psoralen Activated Cancer Therapy (X-PACT)”. This innovative research investigates a new approach for the treatment of solid cancer using psoralen, a potent anti-cancer therapeutic. X-PACT overcomes prior challenges due to psoralen therapy’s limited penetration in tissue by activating psoralen with UV light emitted from novel phosphors that absorb x-rays and re-radiate at UV wavelengths. This in turn unleashes both short- and potentially long-term antitumor activity of photo-active therapeutics. The results on various cell lines demonstrate a potential therapeutic effect for X-PACT and provide a foundation and rationale for future studies.
