Thanks to the arrival of a new linear accelerator driven by artificial intelligence, which is added to the machine already in use, which combines radiotherapy with high-field magnetic resonance, the Department of Advanced Oncological Radiotherapy of the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar (Verona), becomes the first Italian center for ultra-precision hi-tech “adaptive” radiotherapy. The two tools allow to perfectly define the tumor site and hit it with the utmost precision and with high doses of radiation, without damage to healthy tissues and in a shorter time, thanks to the ability to readjust the treatment plan in real time and every day based on changes in tumor mass or biological. Complementary and ultra-precise, these two hi-tech ‘snipers’ of the tumor allow to treat, from the most fragile patients, who may not sustain a long therapy session, to the most complex patients in which a reoperation with radiotherapy is necessary for the recovery of the previously irradiated disease, a very complex and little used method. As demonstrated in fact by a study by Negrar’s IRCCS, currently being published in Frontiers in Oncology which will be presented at the congress of the European Society of Oncology and Radiotherapy (ESTRO), in Copenhagen from 6 to 10 May, thanks to the extreme precision of Unity It is now possible to irradiate again after the reappearance of the disease, patients already radio-treated with a first previous radiotherapy, but without hitting the already irradiated tissues with high doses, thus minimizing the side effects. The data from the study collected on 22 patients with recurrence of prostate cancer already irradiated previously, demonstrate that the targeted re-irradiation approach is safe and effective, guaranteeing local control of the disease and a survival rate of more than 90%. to one year.
Explains Filippo Alongi, director of the department of Advanced Oncological Radiotherapy of the IRCCS of Negrar and associate professor of the faculty of medicine at the University of Brescia: “We are the only Italian center to have Ethos Varian, an accelerator linear intelligent that in Italy has only been acquired by another radiotherapy center. The device in fact – he adds – thanks to sessions of just 10 minutes, allows you to treat even patients who are unable to lie down under the machine for a long time. such as the elderly and the obese, or those with pacemakers and metal prostheses “.
To date with Unity almost 600 patients have been treated at the Negrar Center for a total of about 5000 sessions in about two years of activity, with promising results and practically no or no side effects in all the treated districts. “We will go to other anatomical districts such as the liver in case of one or a few metastases with the same purpose: to eradicate the disease outbreaks by trying alone or together with new generation drugs to increase the control of the disease and improve the quality of life of the cancer patients “, concludes the expert.
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