Enhancing Outcomes in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer with Next-Gen IGSRT

As dermatology moves toward more precise, non-invasive cancer treatments, imaging-driven radiation therapies are redefining how clinicians diagnose, plan, and deliver care. The growing adoption of image-guided superficial radiation therapy (IGSRT) is enabling higher cure rates, improved patient experience, and more personalised treatment pathways, particularly for non-melanoma skin cancer.

In this interview with MedTech Spectrum, Kerwin J. Brandt, Chief Executive Officer of SkinCure Oncology, discusses the introduction of GentleBeam, a next-generation advancement in IGSRT technology. By integrating proprietary Photosonic imaging with a faster, more adaptive treatment platform, GentleBeam aims to enhance visualisation, streamline workflows, and elevate clinical outcomes. The conversation explores how this innovation is shaping the future of dermatologic oncology, where real-time imaging, AI-driven insights, and patient-centric care models converge to deliver more effective and accessible cancer treatment.

How does the addition of GentleBeam enhance the capabilities of SkinCure Oncology’s IGSRT platform?

GentleBeam enhances the capabilities of SkinCure Oncology’s IGSRT platform by allowing for more advanced imaging and platform integration across more service line offerings we are developing.  Next, Photosonic imaging is proprietary to SkinCure Oncology and offers future opportunities for tumour modelling and advanced integration with other best-in-class imaging modalities, allowing for additional future service line offerings. GentleBeam will also be the fastest IGSRT delivery system in the marketplace, which all but eliminates a potential tumour miss or unnecessary radiation to normal tissue due to patient movement.  

Can you elaborate on how the Photosonic technology used in GentleBeam improves the visualisation of skin layers and contributes to more precise treatment planning?

Photosonic imaging uses advanced laser technology to excite the tissue, which results in an acoustic pressure wave that the device then detects and turns into ultra-high resolution images via a Fabry-Perot sensor.  SkinCure Oncology has exclusivity in the US for Photosonic imaging in the dermatology space.  

What clinical impact do you expect from integrating GentleBeam, particularly for patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)?

The clinical impact will be realised with faster patient throughput, better ergonomic patient positioning capabilities, less physical strain on the operators due to the zero-gravity arm motion, and the ability to integrate SkinCure Oncology’s other platform solutions with a universal operating system and plug-and-play future upgrades.  GentleBeam runs on SkinCure Oncology’s proprietary GentleCure Cloud System, which is an advanced patient data and asset management software, only available to SkinCure Oncology partners.  Additionally, it is expected that the GentleBeam lifecycle may be longer as there are fewer moving parts, and a non-traditional X-ray head that is designed to operate like a linear accelerator instead of decades-old X-ray tube technology.  Lastly, GentleBeam was designed as an “upgrade-ready” platform, so future iterations will be simple upgrades without lengthy downtime or complete system changes.  

How does the GentleCure Experience differentiate itself from conventional hospital-based radiation therapies in terms of cost and patient outcomes?

GentleCure shifts care from high-cost hospital infrastructure to a lower-cost outpatient dermatology model, improving payer economics and patient affordability.  When hospital facility fees and separate billing for CT sim and dosimetry are included, the cost of electron beam therapy in a hospital setting averages around $15,000 per single lesion, approximately 33 per cent more than the average cost of treating a single lesion with GentleCure IGSRT in a dermatology setting – and that’s just the upfront cost of care.

The reality is that issues with hospital-based EBRT drive longer-term costs even higher:

Lower cure rates for EBRT, relative to GentleCure IGSRT, mean more recurrences requiring additional treatment.

 More collateral tissue damage caused by EBRT results in a higher risk of side effects and additional costs to repair damage to the skin.  

Hospital-based care in a larger, less convenient, and more intimidating environment increases the likelihood of missed visits or incomplete courses of care, further driving up costs.

At SkinCure Oncology, we’re especially proud of our patient outcomes, in terms of both clinical results and patient satisfaction. 

In the strongest published IGSRT cohorts for early-stage nonmelanoma skin cancer, local control/freedom from recurrence has been reported at about 99.3 per cent in the original 2,917-lesion series and ~99.5 per cent–99.7 per cent at 2–6 years in later cohorts approaching 20,000 lesions. For conventional electron beam EBRT, the best-established retrospective series generally report >95 per cent local control for T1–T2 lesions, with older mixed-modality EBRT series showing about 93 per cent control for previously untreated lesions.

More than 40,000 patients have completed a patient satisfaction survey after completing treatment with GentleCure IGSRT.  99.8 per cent said they were happy with their treatment decision and would recommend GentleCure to others.  We are aware of no patient satisfaction data specifically related to the use of EBRT to treat skin cancer.  The Dermatology Association of Radiation Therapy conducted a patient satisfaction survey that reported 80 per cent of patients receiving IGSRT were fully happy with their treatment results and 83 per cent would recommend IGSRT to others, while only 22 per cent of patients receiving Mohs surgery were happy with their treatment results and only 13 per cent would recommend the treatment to others.

With reported cure rates exceeding 99 per cent for selected cases, how is SkinCure Oncology ensuring consistent quality and standardisation across partner dermatology practices?

At SkinCure Oncology, achieving and sustaining >99 per cent cure rates is not a function of variability; it is the result of deliberate standardisation, disciplined systems, and investment in people. Everything we do is focused first and always on the patients.

We have continued to foster in our model three core focuses wrapped in education: standardisation, centralisation, and accountability.

First, standardisation.

We operate with non-negotiable clinical and operational protocols across every partner practice. From adaptive treatment planning and imaging utilisation to delivery workflows and follow-up, our approach is consistent, evidence-based, and continuously refined. This removes variability at the point of care and ensures every patient receives the same high standard regardless of unique encounters and individuals.

Second, centralisation.

We are actively centralising critical components of the care journey to reduce administrative burden on practices, clinicians and improve consistency in execution. Examples include our Patient Care Advocacy model, which supports patients through education, decision-making, and scheduling, as well as the software implementation of RO Dynamics by Quantek Systems, which brings workflow discipline, visibility, and real-time performance management across our network.

Third, investment in education and infrastructure.

We are expanding our corporate training centre, creating a controlled environment for initial and ongoing clinical education, simulation training, and protocol reinforcement. This allows us to onboard consistently, retrain continuously, and elevate performance across the entire network.

Finally, it comes down to what I often refer to as our “big two”: systems and people.

We are building scalable systems that drive consistency, and we are investing in exceptional clinicians and leaders who execute with discipline and accountability.

When you combine those elements, standardised protocols, centralised support systems, and highly trained professionals, you get a reliable, repeatable, excellent standard of care at scale.

That is how we protect outcomes, protect the patient experience, and continue to lead this category. Educate, educate, educate.

How do you see imaging-driven radiation therapies evolving in dermatology, and what role will innovations like GentleBeam play in shaping personalised cancer care?

We’ve already seen the benefits of “seeing before treating”.  Peer-reviewed studies show that image-guided SRT yields superior outcomes compared with non-image-guided SRT and other non-image-guided radiotherapy options. As it relates specifically to skin cancer, we’re happy to share our predictions for how imaging will continue to benefit those who may one day face a skin cancer challenge:

The future of skin cancer care will be defined by when we detect disease, not just how we treat it.  We’re rapidly approaching a time when a combination of improved imaging technology and AI will ensure that skin cancer is identified earlier, characterised more precisely, and managed with increasingly targeted, non-invasive therapies.

Today, treatment is most often determined by the tool of choice at the dermatology practice.  Imaging is going to change that. We see a day when new imaging devices not only help diagnose skin cancer but also determine the most appropriate treatment options for the specific tumour under evaluation. Eventually, the patient and the physician will work together to choose the treatment pathway based on the projected response rate, side effects, and likely cosmetic outcomes. Patients can then seek out a practice offering their treatment of choice.  The natural consequence of this will be the more rapid adoption of noninvasive image-guided SRT as dermatology practices seek to retain their patients.

Specifically, as it relates to image-guided SRT and GentleBeam, further improvement will come in two areas. First, the marriage of Photosonic technology and other imaging modalities to optimise for both image quality and depth.  Second, the use of AI to help evaluate the images and inform treatment planning. 

While you asked specifically about the impact that imaging will have on the treatment of skin cancer using radiation therapy, we would be remiss if we didn’t opine on the impact that imaging will soon have on the evolution of Mohs surgery.  As patients come to expect more precise treatments, we believe they will no longer tolerate a treatment known for imprecision on the front-end. We believe that just a few years from now, “image-informed Mohs surgery” will become the new surgical standard of care, and both surgeon and patient will have a better idea of how much cutting will be done, before surgery even begins  – if surgery is the chosen option.