Revolutionary cancer research: How particle therapy could save lives!

Revolutionary cancer research: How particle therapy could save lives!

In Europe, around 150,000 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer every year. This alarming number highlights the urgency of improving the chances of recovery for this age group. While the chances of recovery for children and adults over 40 have increased in recent decades, progress has been less pronounced for adolescents and young adults. Loud TU Dresden Statistics show that between 10 and 25 percent of young patients treated suffer relapses or develop secondary tumors caused by the therapy.

An interdisciplinary research team led by Prof. Esther Troost from the Technical University of Dresden has launched the “KAYAC+” research project. This project aims to improve radiotherapy and prevent secondary tumors. In order to realize these ambitious projects, the team will receive funding of one million euros from the European Partnership for Radiation Protection Research (PIANOFORTE) and an additional 100,000 euros from the Saxon Ministry of Science. Over the next four years, research will focus on the following areas: analyzing the clinical results of particle therapy and their influence on the occurrence of other cancers.

Most common cancers and current treatment approaches

The most common cancers in this age group are breast, thyroid and testicular cancer, as well as tumors of the brain, spinal cord, bones, soft tissue and lymph glands. Treatment approaches include surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation. In addition, treatment outcomes have been shown to be less favorable in adolescents and young adults than in children and older adults. The reasons for these poorer results are still unknown. Possible factors include adherence to treatment, genetic tumor characteristics, hormonal factors and the occurrence of secondary tumor diseases.

In the last 10-15 years, particle therapy has become increasingly important in many European radiotherapy centers. This form of therapy enables high-dose irradiation of the tumor tissue, while the radiation dose in the surrounding healthy tissue is reduced. Around 140 centers worldwide offer this innovative therapy, four of which are located in Germany. Since 2014, patients in Dresden have benefited from proton therapy, a specific form of particle therapy.

Cancer registry and epidemiological data

In addition to the research surrounding the KAYAC+ project, the availability of precise cancer data is becoming increasingly important. The Center for Cancer Registry Data (ZfKD) at the Robert Koch Institute plays a central role in this. It monitors, summarizes and evaluates data from epidemiological cancer registries and publishes the “Cancer in Germany” report every two years. A detailed report on cancer in Germany is published every five years.

The German Cancer Registry e.V. promotes the uniform documentation and evaluation of cancer registry data. There are numerous data sets on the German Cancer Registry website that provide epidemiological information on various cancer diseases. Particularly noteworthy is the German Childhood Cancer Registry, which records and evaluates cancer in children and young people under the age of 18 nationwide. This detailed data is crucial for developing new treatment approaches and improving patient care.