News of October 25, 2024
Multi-million funding for revolutionary radiation treatment for cancer
HZDR participates in European research project UPLIFT
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has joined forces with 14 scientific institutions from all over Europe in the research project UPLIFT. Their common goal is to advance research on radiation therapy with an upright patient position – a paradigm shift with the potential to significantly improve global access to advanced radiation treatments. At the same time, the project is intended to develop the next generation of experts in this field. The European Union is funding UPLIFT as a “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network” with four million euros. In addition, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation is providing around half a million euros in funding.
Beam line of the proton therapy system (left) with opened Aurora-PT system (right). The prototype at OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology is to be used in the development of MR-guided proton therapy with an upright patient position.
Bild: UKD/Kirsten Lassig
Radiation therapy is considered a cornerstone of modern cancer treatment. Conventionally, patients are treated in a recumbent position. In current radiation therapy, a treatment device is rotated around the patient to direct beams of ionizing radiation at the tumor from different angles. In contrast, UPLIFT focuses on an alternative approach with an upright patient position. Here, the radiation beam remains fixed and the patients themselves are rotated relative to the beam. This revolutionary approach on the one hand offers physiological benefits and, for example, can reduce tumor motion due to respiration during treatment, which improves the tumor targeting accuracy. On the other hand, it will save space and costs, which could make radiation therapy more accessible around the globe. Currently, more than three out of four cancer patients live in countries that only have access to five percent of the world's radiation therapy capacity.
This is why radiation therapy with an upright patient position is attracting great interest for future clinical applications. However, important scientific questions remain unanswered. Additionally, there are no international guidelines for this form of therapy and current workflows used in hospitals are designed for treating patients in recumbent position only. These are just some of the challenges that UPLIFT aims to overcome. The HZDR will be involved primarily from a medical technology perspective. To this end, it is providing the world's first whole-body prototype for live imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during proton therapy to the project. The HZDR researchers will develop MRI-guided proton therapy with an upright patient position, which is primarily intended to improve the targeting accuracy of moving tumors.
UPLIFT Logo
Bild: EU-Project UPLIFT
The following European organizations are directly involved in UPLIFT: GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (project coordination), German Cancer Research Center DKFZ and HZDR / OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology in Germany, Czech Technical University in the Czech Republic, Sheffield Hallam University, Leo Cancer Care and Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, Centre Léon Bérard and TheraPanacea in France, ASG Superconductors and Centro Nationale di Adroterapia Oncologica in Italy, Jagiellonian University in Poland, COSYLAB in Slovenia, RaySearch Laboratories in Sweden and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.
About the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions:
With the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the European Union promotes the mobility of scientists across countries and sectors in order to make Europe more attractive as a research location. Over the duration of the EU framework program Horizon Europe, the MSCA have a total budget of 6.6 billion euros until 2027. The Doctoral Networks, which include the UPLIFT project, are one of five MSCA funding lines and focus on the structured training of young scientists. The actions were named after the two-time Nobel Prize winner in physics Marie Skłodowska Curie.
Further information:
Prof. Aswin Louis Hoffmann
Institute of Radiooncology – OncoRay at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 458 3932
Email: aswin.hoffmann@hzdr.de
Media Contact:
Simon Schmitt | Head
Communications and Media Relations at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260-3400 | Email: s.schmitt@hzdr.de
