Radiation oncology

For certain types of chemotherapy, scalp cooling and hand-foot cooling can limit or even prevent side effects such as hair loss and nerve damage. UZ Leuven and Think Pink have requested NIHDI to invest in accessible care. And succesfully so: as 1 January 2023 these costs are being reimbursed.

At the end of November, it was the first time a patient with oesophageal cancer was treated in Belgium. This was done in the Leuven proton therapy centre PARTICLE, as part of the first European phase 3 study on the potential benefits of proton irradiation in that type of cancer.

A large international trial has shown that an extra radiation boost delivered directly to the tumour can improve the prospects of men with non-metastatic prostate cancer, without additional adverse effects. For these men the chance of a relapse in 5 years is smaller than for men that did not receive the boost.