Research - Radiotherapy Oncology Service

The Radiotherapy Oncology Department of the Hospital Clínic carries out its research through the August Pi Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), in the area of Oncology and Hematology and, specifically, in the groups of

The research of the Radiotherapy Oncology Department aims to improve the response to cancer treatment, as well as to reduce its side effects, through the personalization of radiotherapy treatment based on cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic technology.

The main lines of research of the Department are:

The identification of new therapeutic strategies through personalized molecular diagnosis.

Optimization of radiotherapy treatment using biological models of toxicity. 

The research activity is carried out in the following areas:

Clinical research 

• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in lung cancer
• SBRT in oligometastatic cancer
• Cardiac SBRT
• Liver SBRT
• Extreme hypofractionation in prostate cancer
• Radiosurgery
• Extreme hypofractionation in prostate cancer
• Intraoperative radiotherapy

Translational research

• Radiogenomics in breast cancer.

Research in medical physics

• Improvement of radiation beam modelling in planning and calculation systems, optimization of the fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy treatment in malignant lung nodules with ground-glass opacities.
• Monitoring of the patient’s position during treatment using radiation beam transmission images.
• Application of artificial intelligence models for the prediction of the need to adapt treatment in head and neck cancer.
• In-vivo dosimetry in brachytherapy treatments using plastic scintillation detectors.

Other lines of research in Radiotherapy Oncology are as follows:

• SBRT in lung tumors
• SBRT oligometastasis
• Extreme hypofractionation in prostate tumors

The Department’s research activity is also involved in multiple national and international studies:

• EMBRACE.
• Combination of VMAT/SBRT and new molecules.
• Extreme hypofractionation in prostate cancer.
• Intraoperative radiotherapy.