David R. Holmes, Jr., M.D., of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and colleagues with the SISR trial compared the use of vascular brachytherapy (VBT - intra-coronary radiation therapy) with implantation of the sirolimus-eluting stent for the treatment of restenosis occurring within a previously placed bare-metal stent, in a study appearing in the March 15 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Data on the relative merits of each approach are limited. The study is being released early online to coincide its release with the American College of Cardiology annual conference.
The multicenter trial included 384 patients with in-stent restenosis who were enrolled between February 2003 and July 2004 at 26 academic and community centers. Follow-up continued until June 2005. Patients were randomized to VBT (n = 125) or the sirolimus-eluting stent (n = 259).