Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen are participating in the nationwide UncovRT project, which investigates the long-term consequences of radiation therapy in the brain and aims to improve the quality of life of long-term survivors. The team at the West German Proton Therapy Center Essen is responsible for the pediatric focus.

UncovRT stands for “Uncover molecular mechanisms of side effects after cranial Radiation Therapy to improve quality of life for long term survivors of brain cancer”. The project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, will receive a total of around two million euros as part of the National Decade Against Cancer. Of this, 420,000 euros will go to Essen.

The focus is on the question of which molecular changes occur in the brain after radiation therapy and why some patients still suffer from long-term effects years later. The Essen team is particularly focused on children and adolescents with brain or skull base tumors that have been irradiated with protons. Proton therapy is considered particularly gentle on healthy tissue, but concentration and memory performance can still be impaired.

The interdisciplinary joint project brings together teams from Dortmund, Essen, Dresden, Hamburg and Heidelberg. Together, a comprehensive database of clinical data, imaging images and biological information is being built. Laboratory studies investigate the biological causes of radiation-induced brain damage and test possible drugs that can prevent or mitigate such damage. Those affected are actively involved in the project and contribute their perspective.

The aim is to detect long-term effects earlier, to avoid them in a more targeted manner and to sustainably improve the quality of life of people who have survived a brain tumour.

Read more:

BMFTR funds UncovRT project on quality of life in children

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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