Radiotherapy: Pursuing innovation
Radiotherapy is one of the most effective weapons in the fight against cancer, along with surgery and chemotherapy. To make this treatment even more accurate and to offer it to more cancer patients, physicians and researchers must pursue their efforts and continue to innovate.
Today, one in two cancer patients in France is treated using radiotherapy. According to Prof. Philip Poortmans, head of the department of oncological radiotherapy at Institut Curie, "more patients could benefit from it and the side effects could be further reduced." Radiotherapy has not yet revealed all of its possibilities. Innovation in radiotherapy and radiation biology is thus an important factor in cancer treatment. Institut Curie has made it one of its priorities within the MC21 institutional project, which aims to conduct research and provide care at the highest level, in order to pursue the continuum initiated by Marie Curie.
Technological innovations play a major part in the development of radiotherapy. And as such Institut Curie boasts the number one proton therapy center in France. Important progress will also be made through improved understanding of the biological consequences of radiotherapy. If we can decipher the response of tumors and the healthy surrounding tissue we can achieve this dual objective, namely combating the radio-resistance of certain tumors while limiting long-term side effects.
This medical and scientific project will involve the construction at Orsay of a building measuring 1,380 sq. m dedicated to experimentation in radiotherapy (MC21-RadexP). It will contain a translational experimental radiotherapy platform and a laboratory for conducting pre-clinical studies. By bringing together high-tech facilities and medical, biological and physical know-how in the same place, Institut Curie effectively develops clinical applications to benefit patients.
The birthplace of radiotherapy, Institut Curie today has the largest technical platform in France, and the scientific and medical prowess needed to ensure the success of this fight. The researchers at Institut Curie, bolstered by their expertise and the research-care continuum, are thus on the path to new therapies. These include FLASH radiation, Dbaits and combined therapies.
Crédit photo : Pedro Lombardi / Institut Curie
Crédit infographie : Sonia Singh / Institut Curie
Crédit vidéo : Institut Curie / O·H·N·K
