The 2024 State of Science report from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer's Radiation Oncology Scientific Council.
Daniel Portik, Denis Lacombe, Corinne Faivre-Finn, V��rane Achard, Nicolaus Andratschke, Dora Correia, Mateusz Spalek, Matthias Guckenberger, Piet Ost, Felix Ehret
Author Information
Daniel Portik: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology (Maastro), GROW Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: daniel.portik@eortc.org.
Denis Lacombe: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
Corinne Faivre-Finn: Department of Clinical Oncology, The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
V��rane Achard: Department of Radiotherapy, Institut Bergoni��, Bordeaux, France and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Nicolaus Andratschke: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Dora Correia: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
Mateusz Spalek: Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland.
Matthias Guckenberger: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Piet Ost: Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Iridium Network, Radiation Oncology, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Felix Ehret: Charit�� - Universit��tsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit��t Berlin and Humboldt-Universit��t zu Berlin, Department of Radiation Oncology, Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Berlin, a partnership between DKFZ and Charit�� - Universit��tsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy (RT) is a central pillar of a multimodal cancer treatment approach. The ongoing advances in the fields of RT, imaging technologies, cancer biology, and others yield the potential to refine the use of RT. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) hosted a dedicated workshop to identify and prioritize key research questions and to define future RT-based treatment strategies to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. METHODS: An initial call for relevant RT research topics led to the formation of workgroups to develop these into new clinical research proposals and projects. The EORTC Radiation Oncology Scientific Council (ROSC) State of Science workshop was held in Brussels, Belgium, in February 2024, bringing together EORTC members and international stakeholders to connect and work on the proposals. RESULTS: Four topics of interest were identified: I) De-escalation of RT, minimizing toxicity while maintaining patients' quality of life, II) Technology-driven RT utilizing advances in treatment techniques, such as spatially fractionated RT to improve outcomes in patients with bulky disease and localized high tumor burden, III) Biology-driven RT, integrating the rapid advances in cancer biology and functional imaging to guide and personalize RT, and IV) New indications adding value and expanding the use of RT. CONCLUSION: The EORTC ROSC State of Science workshop prioritized clinical questions to be addressed in prospective clinical research projects to advance RT care and improve patient outcomes.
