Lombardy partners:
- Ester Orlandi, Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica -CNAO, € 249.992,00
- Tiziana Rancati, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, € 250.000,00
| Pathology of interest: | Radioresistance cancers |
| Area of research: | Cancer |
| Start date: | 01/03/2025 |
| End date: | 29/02/2028 |
| Funding: | € 499.992,00 |
| Project partners: | Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (Italy)Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (Italy)Heidelberg University Hospital (Germany)Neolys (SME) (France)Luxembourg Institute of Health (Luxembourg)Politecnico of Milano (Italy)Maastricht University (Netherlands) |
Hypoxia in tumors and their microenvironments significantly contributes to resistance against
photon-based radiotherapy (RT) in many solid cancers. In this context, heavy ion RT, especially
carbon ion RT (CIRT), is becoming increasingly a pivotal approach due to its superior efficacy in
targeting hypoxia tumors compared to photon RT. However, RT protocols typically prioritize factors
like tumor stage and histotype over specific traits such as hypoxia when selecting treatments.
While this approach streamlines therapeutic decisions, it falls short of achieving the best
therapeutic results for patients. A significant challenge hindering personalized approaches in
selecting patients for CIRT is the lack of a comprehensive non-invasive diagnostic/predictive
biomarker. Our collaborative translational project (Hi-ROC) focuses on establishing a multimodal
and comprehensive non-invasive biomarker/signature for identifying hypoxia at the individual
level. This will involve comparing genetic, transcriptomic, microbiota, cellular, microcirculation,
and imaging features of patients with unresectable locally advanced lung cancer, high-risk head
and neck cancer, and operable retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma who were either cured or not
cured by definitive or postoperative photon RT. The biomarker will be used in a pilot study to select
patients for either CIRT or photon RT, assessing the viability of the potential for future clinical trials.
Additionally, we will develop a beta prototype for an in vitro medical device to determine clinically
relevant hypoxia in a non-invasive way. Our project also entails deepening our understanding of
hypoxia mechanisms through in vitro experiments and optimizing an in-silico platform to assess
the potential of advanced RT techniques and technologies (beyond C-ions) in overcoming hypoxia.
Finally, we will explore the feasibility and potential of digital twins in personalized radiation
oncology, representing a new generation of biomarkers.