“Radiation therapy is very effective for symptom relief, but more isn’t necessarily better. We have to be smarter. That’s why we’re studying Primer-Shot Radiotherapy. We’ve known for some time that all parts of a tumor are different; some parts have a better blood supply and receive more oxygen than others. In the lab, using organoids, we discovered that the tumors with more oxygen respond better to radiation. We also saw that if you irradiate once and then wait, the dead tumor cells are cleared away, improving blood flow in the tumor. If you irradiate once more after that, the treatment is more effective.
That’s the idea that we’re now testing in patients. Instead of delivering all the radiation sessions after another, we give one initial dose, wait about three weeks, and then deliver the remaining treatments. We have already treated a number of patients this way. We’ll need larger studies to compare groups, but the results so far look very promising.”
For this research, the NKI collaborates with pulmonologists from Spaarne Hospital, OLVG, BovenIJ Hospital, and Tergooi Medical Center. One of these pulmonologists, Julia d’Hooghe from OLVG, is very enthusiastic about the study: “We have a multidisciplinary meeting to discuss all patients every week. Those eligible for this type of radiotherapy receive their treatment at the NKI and can return to their own pulmonologist afterwards. This allows patients to receive high-quality treatment while staying connected to their own hospital. Their own doctor knows them best and can help determine what truly matters to them. Another benefit is that this type of radiation often improves patients’ overall condition, making them better able to handle other types of treatments.”
Zeno: “One thing that I’m excited about is that new treatments are usually made stronger by adding something. Another drug, a higher dose, and so on. But this approach strengthens the treatment without putting extra strain on the patient. The costs don’t increase, either: we simply work smarter. It’s also remarkable that something I observed in the consultation room led to fundamental research into how cancer works, and that this research, in turn, led to a better treatment. Everything came full circle.”