One Million Euros in Funding: Dresden Radiation Researchers Coordinate EU Project KAYAC+ to Improve Cancer Therapy for Young People

In Europe, about 150,000 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 develop cancer each year. What is alarming is that the number of new cases in Western European countries is particularly high compared to the rest of the world. Moreover, the chances of recovery in this age group have not improved as much as they have for children or for adults over the age of 40. Between 10 and 25 percent of treated adolescents and young adults suffer a relapse or develop other tumors later on as an undesired result of the therapy.

An interdisciplinary research team of experts from Europe's leading radiation therapy centers, headed by Prof. Esther Troost, Dean at the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden (MF TUD), Director of the Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology at University Hospital Dresden (UKD) and Head of Image-Guided High-Precision Radiotherapy - OncoRay, will therefore explore which approaches in radiation therapy can improve treatment outcomes and prevent the occurrence of secondary tumors. The consortium will receive almost one million Euro in funding over the next four years from the European Partnership for Radiation Protection Research (Pianoforte) and Dresden itself additionally EUR 100.000 from the Saxon Ministry of Science (SMWK) for its research project “KAYAC+ - Knowledge on Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer.”

The most common malignant cancers in adolescents and young adults affect the female breast, thyroid, testicles, brain or spinal cord, bone or soft tissue, and lymph glands. These cancers are treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy, and radiotherapy.

Despite the intense multimodal therapy, the outcome of cancer treatment in adolescents and young adults is less favorable than in children or adults over 40 years of age. So far, the underlying causes are still unknown. The influencing factors mentioned include adherence to therapy, genetic tumor characteristics, hormonal factors, and the development of second primary cancer diseases as a result of the therapy.

During the past 10 to 15 years, various European radiation therapy centers have introduced particle therapy as an alternative to conventional photon-based radiotherapy. The physical properties of particle therapy allow for high-dose irradiation of tumor tissue while reducing the dose in the surrounding tissues. This innovative form of radiotherapy is currently offered at some 140 centers worldwide, four of which are located in Germany. Since 2014, patients at the UKD's Proton Therapy Facility Dresden have been able to benefit from proton therapy, a form of particle therapy.

"While treating patients with protons, we simultaneously include almost all of them in clinical studies in order to document and improve the use and effectiveness of the therapy," explains Esther Troost. "As part of the pan-European KAYAC+ project funded by Pianoforte, we now want to specifically address various scientific questions regarding photon and particle therapy for cancer in adolescents. In their doctoral theses, two young researchers will investigate the clinical results of particle therapy and factors that may lead to poorer treatment outcomes, as well as the influence of radiation technology and the imaging technology required for the therapy on the development of further cancers," explains the scientist. The two doctoral students will be employed at the OncoRay Center, a joint institution of MF-TUD, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and UKD, as well as at Skandion Clinic and Stockholm University in Sweden. The data collected will be entered into a new European database, which will form the core of the future European data warehouse on treatment outcomes of particle therapy.

"We are delighted that University Medicine Dresden will be able to contribute to optimizing the treatment of young cancer patients through its research," explains Prof. Uwe Platzbecker, Medical Director of UKD. "It is only through this close dialog between science and patient care that Dresden University Hospital will be able to continue to develop as a center for innovative cancer treatment."

The European Partnership for Radiation Protection Research (PIANOFORTE):

The European Partnership for Radiation Protection Research is committed to promoting innovation in the field of radiation protection in order to achieve better protection against exposure to ionizing radiation. It brings together 58 partners representing 22 European Union countries as well as the United Kingdom and Norway, and is coordinated by the French Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR). It is co-financed by the European Union's EURATOM program and the governments of the participating countries. Through its research activities, PIANOFORTE will contribute to the implementation of European policies such as the European plan to combat cancer, the green pact for growth, and the implementation of the road map for reducing industrial and natural risks.

KAYAC+ study (Knowledge on outcome of Adolescent and Young Adults with Cancer)

The KAYAC+ project will receive funding of almost one million Euro from the EU over a period of 48 months. The project is coordinated by Prof. Esther Troost, Professor of Image-Guided High-Precision Radiotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden and Director of the Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology at the University Hospital Dresden (UKD). In addition to the OncoRay Center, these leading European radiotherapy centers participate in the project: University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), Kommunalförbundet Skandionkliniken Uppsala, Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica Pavia (CNAO), Instytut Fizyki Jądrowej (IFJ PAN) Kraków, Centre de lutte contre le cancer Léon Bérard Lyon, University Hospital KULeuven, and Danish Center for Particle Therapy /Aarhus University Hospital.

The OncoRay Center in Dresden

OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research is a joint institution of the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), and the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital Dresden. The OncoRay Center's vision is to significantly improve cancer treatment outcomes by providing biologically individualized, technologically optimized radiation therapy. Proton therapy is used primarily for tumors in the brain and spinal cord, the base of the skull, the salivary glands, the head and neck, the esophagus, the lungs, and for the treatment of children with cancer.

Contact:
Anne-Stephanie Vetter
Staff Unit Public Relations of the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine
at TUD Dresden University of Technology
+49 351 458 17903

www.tu-dresden.de/med