English
FrançaisCoordinated by Prof. David AZRIA (head of the Radiotherapy Oncology Unit at the ICM) and Dr. Muriel BRENGUES (researcher at the IRCM), this programme brings together teams of radiotherapy oncologists who are pioneers in technological innovation in radiotherapy, and experts in fundamental research in radiobiology, immunology, bioinformatics, physical sciences and mathematics who collaborate to develop original and competitive translational research in the field of radiobiology applied to oncology.
Optimizing delivery of internal and external radiation therapy
Main goals of this program
The main goals of this working package are to improve clinical benefit of delivering external or internal ionizing radiations by reducing or preventing the dose to the normal tissues with a more precise and targeted way to the target tumour volumes. In addition, we propose new strategies to cure some patients who suffer from late sequelae after EBRT.
Indeed, we have included two different programs to develop new translational researches with very strong interactions as all medical doctors (ICM) are completely integrated in the research teams (IRCM). They all include clinical protocols and fundamental mechanism researches. In addition, we have dedicated an important part to the evaluation by the patients themselves of the consequences of our researches using the patients’ related outcomes (PROs) methodology:
• Axis 1: External beam radiation therapy by Preventing, Predicting, and cUring Side effects after external RadiotHerapy (PPUSH program). The development by the Montpellier team of a radiosensitivity biomarker has shown that it is possible to identify patients with a higher constitutional risk of developing severe sequelae after radiotherapy by means of a rapid and innovative blood test. In the continuity of this work, the first axis of this Programme aims to deepen the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the development of these toxicities. This research will be crucial in identifying patients who will best benefit from the world’s first and only MRI guidance system for radiotherapy, which is scheduled for implantation at the MHI in 2018. This new accelerator-based MRI technology will make it possible to reduce irradiated volumes as much as possible, and represents a major step forward in improving radiotherapy treatments.
• Axis 2: Targeted radionUclide therapy by investigating the relationship between delivered dose and biological effects in tumoRs and Normal tissues (TURN program). The second development axis aims to understand the mode of action of ionizing radiation in the body, tissues and even at the cellular level during the administration of internal radiotherapy (still called vectorized radiotherapy). This field of research includes in-depth dosimetric studies, but also investigations on the psychological impact and quality of life of patients in collaboration with researchers in psychology and health behaviour.