Noninvasive Cardiac Radiotherapy Reduces Ventricular Tachycardia Events

Life-threatening ventricular tachycardia is a rapid heart rhythm originating in the ventricles that can trigger sudden cardiac death. Patients who continue to have ventricular tachycardia despite guideline-based therapy often face recurrent implantable defibrillator shocks, frequent hospitalizations, and limited procedural options. These events erode quality of life and increase resource use in intensive and acute care. To help address this challenge, European investigators have evaluated a noninvasive, high‑precision radiation approach designed to suppress refractory ventricular arrhythmias.

Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) delivers a single, highly precise radiation treatment to the arrhythmogenic area of the heart without catheter insertion. The European STOPSTORM consortium, led by Kiel University (CAU) and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), coordinates this interdisciplinary program across cardiology, rhythmology, and radiation oncology. The approach is intended for patients with persistent arrhythmias who are no longer candidates for additional antiarrhythmic drugs or catheter ablation.

An interim analysis from the first large-scale prospective European registry has been published in the European Heart Journal. The evaluation included 193 patients treated at 28 centers across Europe. Among 107 evaluable patients with at least six months of follow-up, ventricular tachycardia events fell by an average of 80% compared with the six months before treatment. Among patients who survived for at least six months after STAR, 72% remained free of implantable defibrillator shocks.

The safety profile was also assessed in the full 193-patient cohort. Investigators classified 12 serious adverse events as possibly or likely related to treatment. No treatment‑related deaths were observed, although overall mortality remained high given the advanced disease in this population.

Program development continues through the STOPSTORM registry, which now includes more than 350 retrospective and prospective cases. The consortium aims to harmonize patient selection, target definition, treatment protocols, and outcome assessment across participating centers. Recruitment and follow‑up are ongoing to clarify the durability of benefit, patient subgroup responses, and long‑term safety.

“For selected patients who no longer benefit from drug therapy or ablation therapy, this novel treatment is an excellent alternative,” said Prof. Dr. Roland Tilz, Director of the Department of Rhythmology, Campus Lübeck.

“This data opens up a new perspective for us. Our research aims to make the entire process—from diagnosis to treatment—completely non-invasive and more precise, thereby making treatment accessible to more patients in the future,” said Dr. Evgeny Lian, Head of the Electrophysiology Unit at the Department of Internal Medicine III—Cardiology and Internal Intensive Care Medicine, Campus Kiel.

Related Links
Kiel University 
University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein