DKTK-RadPlanBioPlatform: Focus on glioma and rectal carcinoma
With radiotherapy, patients are treated with different radiation strategies (different radiation doses, radiation techniques, combination treatments, etc.), depending on the characteristics of their tumor, and they respond differently to treatment. The tumor is analyzed carefully before and after treatment, e.g. using imaging processes and tumor biopsies. Documenting the treatment parameters and outcome, in compliance with current data protection legislation, is extremely valuable for improving radiation therapy. However, the necessary data are very complex and are usually recorded in different ways by the different clinics, yet in order to obtain valid results, the analyses have to include data from several clinics (multicenter studies).
The aim of this project is therefore to develop DKTK-wide research infrastructure (the RadPlanBio platform) and to start using it for scientific research. Firstly, the results of completed radiotherapy treatments for brain tumors and rectal cancer from all DKTK sites will be recorded in a standardized database covering all the centers. This will enable scientists to analyze the treatment methods and outcomes, as well as biological, technical and imaging parameters, to identify patient groups that might respond particularly well or particularly poorly to certain treatments. In addition, the scientists are formulating specific questions to be answered in multicenter, randomized clinical trials. One of the aims is to identify molecules and tumor changes – through tumor biopsies and imaging methods respectively – which could be used to predict a successful treatment outcome. This will form the basis of subsequent trials to personalize cancer treatment.
