Main Line Health among nation’s first to join landmark pulsed electric field ablation trial

Wynnewood, PA — Main Line Health is one of only four health systems in the country selected to participate in the PROPEL Registry, a national clinical trial evaluating a promising new approach to destroying tumors without surgery. It's a significant achievement — and one that follows another notable first: Main Line Health was the first health system in Pennsylvania to offer the Aliya^® Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) System using the INUMI^™ Flex Needle to perform surgical ablation of soft tissue endoscopically using the ION (Intuitive) robot assisted navigation system.

The trial is being run by the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research. Leading the effort are interventional pulmonologist Thomas Meyer, MD; interventional radiologist Ricky Tong, MD, PhD; and Patrick Ross, MD, PhD, Main Line Health's Department of Surgery chairman, who are all LIMR researchers. Together, the team has already treated 37 patients using the Aliya system with promising early results, particularly for patients with limited treatment options. The procedure is used for soft tissue cancer cells, including primary and metastatic lung, liver and other organ tumors.

Unlike traditional thermal ablation, which uses heat to destroy tissue, PEF ablation delivers short, high-voltage electric pulses that selectively target and destroy cancer cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. The approach is minimally invasive and can be delivered both bronchoscopically — through the airway — and percutaneously, through the skin.

The PROPEL Registry will collect data from 1,000 retrospective patients nationally as researchers evaluate the technology's real-world effectiveness across a range of solid tumors, including primary lung cancers and metastatic disease that has spread from colorectal, breast and other cancers.

Main Line Health's participation places it on a national stage alongside institutions like Penn Medicine, NYU and Duke — bringing cutting-edge cancer care to patients close to home.

"We are still in the early stages of understanding the full potential of this technology, but what we are seeing in our patients is very encouraging," said Dr. Meyer. "Being part of this national registry means we are contributing to the evidence that will shape how PEF ablation is used across the country — and our patients here at Main Line Health are benefiting from that right now."