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Vaccin individualisé contre le cancer, premiers résultats positifs

Vaccin individualisé contre le cancer, premiers résultats positifs

En février dernier, un patient traité à l’IUCT-Oncopole pour un cancer ORL HPV-négatif a pu bénéficier pour la première fois d’un vaccin individualisé contre le cancer dans le cadre d’un essai clinique de phase I. Cette innovation thérapeutique fait également l’objet d’un essai clinique dans le cas des cancers de l’ovaire. 10 mois plus tard, les premiers résultats sont très encourageants. 

Le vaccin thérapeutique individualisé TG 4050 est développé par la société Transgene. Le Pr Jean-Pierre Delord est le médecin investigateur à l’IUCT-Oncopole, pour les cancers ORL.

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11/25/21

Patient care

Radiotherapy for head and neck tumors

Radiotherapy may be provided as a first-line treatment or as a follow up to surgery. In both cases, it may be combined with a relatively unaggressive form of chemotherapy that increases the effectiveness of the radiation.

Objectives of radiotherapy:

  • Destroy the tumor and any cancerous lymph nodes in patients who are not treated by surgery. In this case, the radiation therapist bases the treatment on the patient’s scans.
  • Destroy the invisible part of the disease (microscopic disease), including cancerous cells around the tumor and/or in apparently healthy lymph nodes. The radiation therapist uses scans, microscope analyses of the tumor, if it is removed by surgery, and his/her knowledge of the disease’s natural history to determine the area to be treated.

 

Consultation with a radiation therapist

The radiation therapist explains the goal of the treatment, the procedure and any possible side effects. You will see this doctor again during your treatment and at post-treatment follow-up consultations.
 

Preparation of the treatment

Before radiotherapy begins, we make a soft-plastic mask of your face, which you will wear during treatment to make sure you don’t move your head unconsciously. On the day treatment begins, you will be given a CT scan, the results of which will be used to prepare the treatment.

Each course of treatment is prepared in conjunction with a specialist medical physics team, who will ensure the treatment is administered safely and according to good practices.

 

Treatment procedure

At the IUCT-O, all patients with head and neck tumors receive “intensity-modulated radiotherapy”. The radiotherapy center has:

  • 3 tomotherapy machines, which are particularly suited to treating large tumors and/or tumors close to the base of the skull;
  • 4 VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy) accelerators.

 

Learn more 

Treatment is administered by technicians. A course of treatment will involve one session per day (apart from weekends) for a period of between 5 and 7 weeks.

Patients receive:

  • A dental workup before treatment begins;
  • Medical check-ups at least once a week;
  • Dietary advice;
  • If necessary, nursing care from radiotherapy nurses.

 

End of treatment consultation

The radiation therapist will explain to you how the treatment went and organize follow-up appointments to monitor your progress.