Radiotherapy is one of the main treatments for cancer and is used as an independent treatment or in combination with surgery and/or systemic treatment (i.e. chemotherapy). The goal is to cure cancer, to augment the prognosis, or to palliate symptoms.
Radiation therapy has a biological effect on the DNA and the inflammatory status of the tumor. The side effects are decreased by modern techniques that allow to paint the dose more precisely.
The proposed treatment is discussed with the patient at consultation, usually after multidisciplinary discussion. The radiation oncologist follows the patient throughout the radiotherapy treatment and takes part in the follow-up after therapy, in close collaboration with the other health professionals.
The Radiotherapy Department of the Jules Bordet Institute is a reference center, well equipped with radiation oncology equipment and a dedicated specialized team. We treat over 2,300 patients per year for a total of 30,000 treatment sessions in a wide range of cancer pathologies. Each radiation oncologist is specialized in several disease domains. The physics and engineering team is responsible for the treatment plan calculation and the quality assurance, and develops and integrates novel technology into clinical routine. The radiation therapists perform the simulation and the daily patient treatments.
Our equipment and experience allow to offer patients a full range of techniques and to remain at the leading edge of innovation in order to improve the efficacy of the treatment and minimize their toxicities. Examples of equipment and techniques include:
- 4 conventional linear accelerators equipped with surface guiding technology.
- Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for lesions in the brain, lung, liver, bones and lymph nodes.
- Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) for breast cancer patients, in combination with VMAT when indicated
- Total Body Radiation (TBI)
- Gamma Knife unit (Erasmus Hospital site): Radiosurgery of brain lesions
- Linear accelerator for Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT), avoiding postoperative radiotherapy in selected breast cancer patients
- Low dose rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy (seeds)
- High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy unit, for treatment of
- Gynaecological cancers (including interstitial brachytherapy)
- Oesophageal cancer
- Pulmonary lesions
In 2020, we joined a worldwide research consortium with the mission to implement an integrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided radiotherapy system. The Elekta Unity MR-linac is the first machine in the world to combine high field-strength MR imaging with a linear accelerator in a single system, allowing to adapt the treatment on a daily basis and to see the tumor while treating. The MR-linac will be installed at the New Bordet site, and we plan to treat patients with this novel machine in the beginning of 2022.
Our specific research page of the radiotherapy department shows our further research domains and projects.
The Radiotherapy Department of the Jules Bordet Institute is a teaching centre for Radiation Oncologists, medical physicists and radiation technologists in training.
The healthcare staff also participates in the academic teaching of radiotherapy and oncology, master’s degrees in medicine at the ULB university, radioprotection, interuniversity courses and the continued development of doctors, nurses, technologists, etc.
Research projects
Our dedicated research page provides a more comprehensive overview of our research activities. Below we show some examples of current research projects.
Project 1
Swall PEG study: Patient reported outcomes in term of swallowing and quality of life after prophylactic versus reactive percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement in oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy.
- Project leaders : Tatiana Dragan, Dirk Van Gestel
- Trial sponsor : Institut Jules Bordet
- Funding : «Association Jules Bordet»
- Collaboration : CHU Saint-Pierre, Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent
Project 2
Neo-CheckRay: radiation therapy and adenosine pathway blockade to increase benefit of immuno-chemotherapy in early stage luminal B breast cancer, a randomized phase II trial.
- Project leaders : Alex De Caluwé, Laurence Buisseret, Christophe Vandekerkhove, Dirk Van Gestel, Martine Piccart, Michailis Ignatiadis.
- Trial sponsor : Institut Jules Bordet
- Funding: AstraZeneca
- Collaboration: Institut Curie, Paris; UZ Leuven; Iridium Kankernetwerk, Antwerpen
Project 3
ProCaLung – The Project on Cancer of the Lung
- Project leaders : Florian Charlier, Luigi Moretti
- Trial sponsor: Belgian College of Physicians for Radiotherapy Centers
- Funding: Belgian College of Physicians for Radiotherapy Centers and «Association Jules Bordet»
- Collaboration: Other ProCaLung Team members: Xavier Geets (Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc), Maarten Lambrecht (UZLeuven), Yolande Lievens (UZGent), Vincent Remouchamps (CHU-UCL Namur - Site Ste Elizabeth)
Project 4
Contribution to the study of stereotaxic radiotherapy and its immunomodulatory effect in the treatment of pancreatic cancers.
- Project leaders : Bouchart Christelle, Luigi Moretti
- Trial sponsor : Institut Jules Bordet
- Funding : « Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS », «Association Jules Bordet», « Fondation contre le Cancer ».
- Collaboration : Hopital Erasme, Molecular Immunology Lab (MIU, Institut J. Bordet ULB), Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Oncology (LMMO, VUB), CHU Saint-Pierre, CHR Namur and all the hospitals of the ULB network.
Project 5
Randomized trial to quantify the efficacy of the Safetac® product Mepitel® Film on the prevention of radiodermatitis in the inguinal fold.
- Project leader : Van de Ven Gitte
- Trial sponsor : Institut Jules Bordet
- Funding : Mölnlycke
Projet 6
Evaluation of a clinical decision support protocol during radiotherapy for H&N cancer patients
- Projectleaders : Filipa Rodrigues Sousa, Younes Jourani
- Trial sponsor : Institut Jules Bordet
Our team
Head of Department
- Prof. Philippe Martinive : neurological and digestive tumours
Academic Head and Head of Research in Radiotherapy
- Prof Dirk Van Gestel : head and neck tumours, skin tumours, non-malignant tumours, sarcomas, breast tumours.
Medical Physics Department
The radiotherapy physics’ team is part of the central Medical Physics Department of the Institute.
- Prof Nick Reynaert, Head of Medical Physics Department:
- Mr Younes Jourani, Responsible for physics in radiotherapy:
Head of technologists
- Mrs Monica Somoano Tarno
Radiation Oncologists
- Dr Imane Ahrouch: breast and gynaecological tumours, brachytherapy
- Hamza AlGhamdi : neurological and oligometastatic tumours
- Dr Sylvie Beauvois : head and neck and skin tumours
- Dr Christelle Bouchart : pancreatic and neurological tumours
- Dr Christine Collen : neurological and thoracic tumours
- Dr Antoine Desmet : breast and skin tumours, intraoperative radiotherapy and brachytherapy
- Dr Tatiana Dragan : head and neck tumours, sarcomas
- Prof. Luigi Moretti : digestive and thoracic tumours
- Dr François-Xavier Otte : urological tumours
- Dr Catherine Philippson : breast tumours and intraoperative radiotherapy
- Dr Robbe Van den Begin : oligometastatic, urological and digestive tumours
- Dr Daphné Van Kampen : breast tumours and lymphomas
- Prof. Honorary Paul Van Houtte : thoracic and gynecological tumours, non-malignant tumours, brachytherapy
- Dr Alex De Caluwé : Research consultant
- Prof. Philippe Lambin: Research Consultant
Radiation Oncologists in training
- Dr Mathilde Baré
- Dr Zineb Belbaraka
- Dr Sarah Bellal
- Dr Sofian Benkhaled
- Dr Elisa Bodson
- Dr Pauline De Bruyn
- Dr Marie-Elise Delavigne
- Dr Thomas Descamps
- Dr Emmanuel Fardeau
- Dr Hamza Ghassan
- Dr Carolina Gomes Da Silveira
- Dr Nicolas Jullian
- Dr Alizée Laverdure
- Dr Martin Mandelier
- Dr Michel Madeline
Radiotherapy Nurse Coach
The Nurse Coach in radiotherapy supports the patients in organizing their multidisciplinary care, in the first place for the patients referred by other centers.
- Mrs Ysabelle Houtekens - Maureen Billiet – Stefanie Van Daele
Quality Manager
- -
Administration
- Mrs Elodie Gevart
- Mrs Magali Anzil
03/01/2023
Scientific publications
Radiation therapy-induced left vocal cord paralysis following lung stereotactic body radiation therapy: A case report and review of the literature.
Authors : Pierrard J, Deheneffe S, Longton E, Henry S, Van Houtte P, Remouchamps V
Year : 2023
Journal : Cancer Radiother
Volume : 27
Pages : 69-74
Cardiac safety of dual anti-HER2 blockade with pertuzumab plus trastuzumab in early HER2-positive breast cancer in the APHINITY trial.
Authors : de Azambuja E, Agostinetto E, Procter M, Eiger D, Pondé N, Guillaume S, Parlier D, Lambertini M, Desmet A, Caballero C, Aguila C, Jerusalem G, Walshe JM, Frank E, Bines J, Loibl S, Piccart-Gebhart M, Ewer MS, Dent S, Plummer C, Suter T
Year : 2023
Journal : ESMO Open
Volume : 8
Pages : 100772
Lymphocyte-sparing pelvic radiotherapy for prostate cancer: An in-silico study.
Authors : Baré M, Poeta S, Fernandes P, Jourani Y, Otte FX, Van Brussel S, Van Gestel D, Van den Begin R
Year : 2022
Journal : Phys Imaging Radiat Oncol
Volume : 23
Pages : 127-133
European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer consensus on re-irradiation: definition, reporting, and clinical decision making.
Authors : Andratschke N, Willmann J, Appelt AL, Alyamani N, Balermpas P, Baumert BG, Hurkmans C, Høyer M, Langendijk JA, Kaidar-Person O, van der Linden Y, Meattini I, Niyazi M, Reynaert N, De Ruysscher D, Tanadini-Lang S, Hoskin P, Poortmans P, Nieder C
Year : 2022
Journal : Lancet Oncol
Volume : 23
Pages : e469-e478
Inter-fraction heart displacement during voluntary deep inspiration breath hold radiation therapy without visual feedback measured by daily CBCT.
Authors : Benkhaled S, Gomes da Silveira Cauduro C, Jullian N, Desmet A, Rodriguez D, Jourani Y, Van Gestel D, De Caluwé A
Year : 2022
Journal : Front Oncol
Volume : 12
Pages : 936088