ROncology adiotherapy are increasingly integrated. A group of radiation oncologists fromCareggi University Hospital of Florencesoul of Radiotherapy Oncology Foundationcoordinated a conference of Consensus of top international experts to improve the care of breast cancer. The document has been published Lancet Oncologyone of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world.
But there are still many fears and clichés regarding Radiotherapy. Is it true that it has more impact than chemo? But cWhat is the difference between chemotherapy and radiotherapy? Which tumors are treated with radiotherapy? We talked about it with the radiologists atCareggi University Hospital of Florencethe largest structured and scientific radiotherapy in Italy today.
Radiotherapy, no longer the Cinderella of Oncology
«Despite being one of the pillars of cancer treatment, radiotherapy continues to represent the ‘Cinderella of Oncology’. Too often stigmatized and characterized by prejudices given by misinformation”, explains Lorenzo Livi, Director of the Oncological Radiotherapy Unit, Department of Oncology of the Careggi University Hospital of Florence and one of the coordinators of Consensus. «It, however, is a therapeutic approach that should be used in a complementary manner to other treatments. For the first time we find ourselves faced with some recommendations that may changeat an international level, the vision ofcombined use of radiotherapy with new drugs in the treatment of breast cancer.”
Radiotherapy, a revolution
Compared to a few years ago, radiotherapy technology and software have profoundly changed and improved. «There was a great one revolution in both treatment methods and directions, both in terms of duration of treatments. For example, in many cases of prostate cancer it has been agreed that radiotherapy is preferable to surgery”, explains Professor Lorenzo Livi.
Radiotherapy today has less impact on quality of life
«Today Radiotherapy has less impact on the quality of life than it once did. Years ago, up to 40 sessions of radiotherapy were necessary in some oncological pathologies of the prostate, whereas today this is often the case 5 sessions in two months are enough of treatment. And the side effects are minimal. Almost zero incontinence, it’s not the same with surgery. Also there toxicity of treatments is greatly reduced today. Today the amount of radiation is one tenth and even less than in the past. Things have changed. It always depends on the case and the individual person, but chemotherapy can often be more toxic. For the breast cancertoday the evidence shows that 5 applications with controlled toxicity may be enough and comparable to that of chemotherapy”, adds Livi.
A new guide for all oncologists
The Consensus conference organized by the radiotherapists of the Careggi University Hospital of Florence, which has been committed for over thirty years to promoting scientific research in the field of radiotherapy and improving the care of people affected by cancer, had the objective of drawing up a guide to help oncologists around the world to combine the benefits of drugs and radiotherapy.
The consensus document was developed by the world’s leading experts to illustrate whether, how, when and to what extent, depending on the specific pharmacological therapy, radiotherapy can be effectively integrated into the treatment process. A “guide” of inestimable clinical valuewhich will contribute decisively to extend the use of radiotherapy in different types of breast cancer. It is also what has been repeatedly hoped for by the international scientific community: a wish which has so far been disregarded, due to the difficulty regarding the association between drugs and radiation therapy, due so far to the absence of a univocal direction from the global scientific community.
New information on safety, quality and effectiveness
In the document, sponsored by European Society of Radiotherapy Oncology (ESTRO) Published on The Lancet Oncologyin fifth place in the international ranking (Impact Factor of 51.1), the need emerges to integrate prospective data on radiotherapy in clinical trials of new anticancer agents in order to obtain information on the safety, quality and effectiveness of the combination of radiotherapy and pharmacological treatment. In this way it is possible to optimize the treatment of patients with breast cancer, both in the early and advanced stages.
A synergy between chemotherapy and radiotherapy
It is now clear among doctors around the world that treatment protocols must be personalized to the situation of each patient. With a view to increasingly personalizing the treatment path, data integration would allow the identification of subgroups of women with particular tumor characteristics, risk factors or biomarkers, who could benefit more fromsynergistic approach between chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Oncologist and radiologist together for the best therapy
To obtain maximum combined effectiveness of drugs and radiotherapy, experts recommend involving the radiation oncologist in the therapeutic project right away, to encourage a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of oncological disease.
«The publication of the Consensus in The Lancet Oncology is an important milestone for the entire medical-scientific community», declares Icro Meattini, Associate Professor of Radiotherapy Oncology at the University of Florence, director of the Breast Unit of the Hospital Company.
«The recommendations represent the first international document on safety of the association of new chemotherapies with radiotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer, both in the initial and advanced stages. Although lsynergistic approach from the radiation therapy with new drugs constitute often a winning combination for the treatment of this as well as other oncological pathologies, the Scientific evidence from large-scale trials was currently limited. The achievement of this Consensus allows us to fill this gap”, concludes Meattini.
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED