The mission of the Intensive Oncological Care Unit at the Institut Jules Bordet is:
- Care for severe complications of cancer and of its treatments; complications of a nature to be life threatening,
- Surveillance of patients suffering from cancer who are undergoing treatment that poses a risk, such as surgery or heavy medical treatment.
The unit, which provides intensive care at the Jules Bordet Institute, is dedicated specifically to caring for patients during their neoplastic disease and is the only unit of its kind in Belgium. The particularity of the medical team is that it is multidisciplinary with specialists from the various disciplines of internal medicine. All doctors have extensive experience in oncology and reanimation.
The expertise of the Intensive Oncological Care Unit of the Jules Bordet Institute is to offer patients suffering from a malignant disease a support that is sometimes necessary during certain phases of the illness, such as:
- Continuous cardiac monitoring
- Continuous haemodynamic monitoring
- High-flow oxygen therapy
- Ventilatory support through non-invasive ventilation and invasive ventilation
- Renal dialysis (haemodialysis)
The unit permits the practice of this intensive care in a sterile room (with laminar air flow) for patients with particularly depressed immune systems.
Every autumn the Intensive Oncological Care Unit organizes an international meeting in French that is dedicated specifically to the serious complications that occur in patients suffering from a cancerous disease.
The unit is part of a cooperative group specialised in reanimation in patients suffering from an onco-haematological disease, the GrrrOH (Research Group in Respiratory Reanimation in Onco-Haematology).
The unit managers have developed a specific website on oncological reanimation: www.oncorea.com
The department has a continuous intake of medical students (Master's) and trainee specialists (internal medicine and sister disciplines) who follow training courses in intensive care. They are accompanied during seminars and specific tours. In addition, the responsible doctors participate actively in the ULB's university diploma in intensive care and in the teaching to obtain the diploma in immune depressed reanimation at the Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris (Université Paris Diderot)
Research projects
Project 1 (in progress)
L’inflammation a-t-elle une implication significative dans l’évolution du cancer bronchique ?
- Project initiator: Dr Julie Gorham
- Financing: Intensive Oncological Care Unit
Project 2
COHESIS : Collaboration and Outreach in Hematological patients with/without Sepsis
- Project initiator : Dr Anne-Pascale Meert
- Financing : Amis de l’Institut Bordet
- Collaboration : GrrrOH, NINE-I, HEMICU, DISPROPICUS, University of Ghent, University of Rotterdam
Project 3 (in progress)
RETRO-TARGETICU : Impact and outcome of patients admitted to ICU with cancer treated with targeted therapy
- Project initiator : Dr Anne-Pascale Meert
- Financing: awaited
- Collaboration : Nine I
Project 4
IMMUNO-REA : Caractéristiques et prise en charge des patients atteints d’une tumeur solide traités par immunothérapie admis en réanimation
- Project initiator : Dr Anne-Pascale Meert
- Financing: Intensive oncological care unit
- Cooperation: GrrrOH
Project 5
YELENA : Characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome potentially fulfilling inclusion criteria for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a multicenter prospective descriptive analysis
- Project initiator : Dr Anne-Pascale Meert
- Financing: Intensive Oncological Care Unit
- Cooperation: Dr. Schellongowski (University of Vienna) and Nine I
Project 6 (in progress)
Recommandations de pratique clinique pour le patient atteint d’une affection maligne admis en unité de soins intensifs.
- Project initiator : Dr Anne-Pascale Meert
- Financing: Intensive Oncological Care Unit
Our team
Head of department
Prof. Anne-Pascale Meert
(Caroline Gustin: Secretary)
The team
Prof. Jean-Paul Sculier,
Prof. Thierry Berghmans, head of clinic
Dr Bogdan Grigoriu, deputy head of clinic
Dr Julie Gorham, resident