Mom after a tumor and a therapy that would have prevented her from getting pregnant forever. It is the story of Angelica, just over 30 years old, who now holds her almost 5-month-old daughter Federica in her arms. A natural pregnancy that it has no precedent in scientific literature, because before becoming a mother the young woman had been targeted by beams of carbon ions aimed at the pelvic area to cure a rare sacrum tumor.
The procedure
A radical treatment that would have prevented her from conceiving a child forever, if the doctors hadn’t moved the young woman’s uterus and ovaries to protect them from radiation.
“Physics goes to the doctor”: Angelica Facoetti, radiobiologist researcher of our Center, tells the#adrotherapy and the activities of the CNAO on Asimmetrie, the journal of the@INFN_
The article: pic.twitter.com/Ec5w61w6jU— National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (@Fond_CNAO) February 17, 2022
“A completely new procedure”, the “first case in the world“, announce from Pavia the National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (Cnao) and the Irccs Policlinico San Matteo Foundation which together allowed Angelica to enter the history of medicine.
On the eve of Mother’s Day, her story is meant to be “a message of strength and hope for many women”.
What is hadrontherapy
Hadrontherapy is a form of radiotherapy for the treatment and cure of tumors that are often inoperable or resistant to traditional radiotherapy treatments, which since 2017 has become part of the Essential Levels of Assistance provided by the National Health System.
Unlike traditional radiotherapy, which is based on the use of X-rays or electrons, hadrontherapy involves the use of protons and carbon ions.
These atomic particles (called “hadrons”, from which the name of the therapy itself derives) have the advantage of being heavier and endowed with greater energy than electrons and consequently of being even more effective in destroying tumor cells.
How hadrontherapy works
In order to be effective in targeting the tumor with extreme precision, the hadrons used in hadrontherapy treatment must undergo a very powerful acceleration through a particle accelerator. At Cnao this process takes place inside the “Synchrotron”, a medical device in the shape of a ring 80 meters long and connected to the treatment rooms where patients undergo therapies.
Inside the synchrotron, the particle beam travels about 30,000 kilometers in half a second to reach the energy required for therapy, after which it is directed towards the tumour. When cancer cells are affected, the DNA in their nuclei is profoundly damaged. The cells die and the immune system eliminates them. The great advantage of hadrontherapy is that this cell death mechanism is extremely precise: it affects only the tumor mass and preserves healthy tissue.
The number of hadrontherapy sessions depends on various factors, including the type of particle used, the type of tumor, its size and where it is located. Generally, one session a day is performed, five days a week, for a period ranging from 2 to 7 weeks.