Alexandru Dasu – Optimisation of particle therapy and other advanced forms of radiation therapy

The aim of our research is to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy in general, and proton therapy in particular, for cancer patients.

This is done by individualising the treatment with the help of advanced imaging methods and improving the predictive power of models of tumour and normal tissue response. We are also driving technical innovation for the next generation of treatment approaches.

To achieve this aim we employ a combination of approaches to characterise radiation doses and other physical parameters of interest for radiobiological effects. We are working on the standardisation of reporting and collecting clinical data, and analysing treatment results to improve the translational potential of analytical and AI-based models with translational potential. We are also developing and testing new technology for treatment prediction and verification.

Equiment at the Skadion clinic in blue light

A measuring session at Skandionkliniken (photo: Alexandru Dasu)

Current projects

Emerging CT technology for advancing proton therapy

The project aims to develop, test, and validate new methods for tissue characterization which, together with novel imaging technologies, can improve the effectiveness of proton therapy. The project is carried out by a consortium of Swedish universities with funding from the Swedish Cancer Society.

TheraVivo

In this project we are developing practical workflows for in vivo verification and adaptive radiotherapy in proton therapy, based on the integration of PET-based monitoring with the Qualyscan system and treatment planning systems. By reducing treatment uncertainties, the project seeks to improve patient safety, treatment precision, and clinical effectiveness. The project is carried out by an international consortium, with funding from Vinnova for the Swedish project partners.

Early prediction and mitigation of second effects in normal tissues of patients treated with scanned beam proton therapy

This project aims to improve proton relative biological effectiveness (RBE) analysis and modelling in clinical patients, to be able to use physical parameters to further optimise proton plans from the point of view of normal tissue effects. The project is run in close cooperation with similar analyses within the European Particle Therapy Network.

KAYAC

The KAYAC project aims to address scientific questions of photon and particle therapy in adolescent and young adult cancer patients. This includes differences in radiation treatment plans, dose from secondary particles and imaging, the induction of treatment-induced second tumours, and the incidence of side-effects and their costs.

We are also studying the contribution of radiation modalities, comorbidities and lifestyle factors to secondary tumours. The project database will facilitate this project as well as future translational research. The project is run in an international consortium including the major European particle therapy centres as well as in cooperation with the activities of the European Particle Therapy Network.

SONORA

Here, we are focusing on improving the safety of radiation therapy by developing a library of personalized computational phantoms for pregnant patients and practical methods to investigate foetal doses for different RT techniques and patient anatomies. The project is run in an international consortium within the PIANOFORTE partnership.

Physicist–patient consultations in proton therapy

In this project we aim to adapt and pilot a structured medical physicist-patient consultation model in proton therapy at the Skandion Clinic, and to evaluate its feasibility in a Swedish clinical context.

The primary research question is whether the addition of structured consultations with trained medical physicists improves the understanding of treatment, reduces anxiety, and increases patient satisfaction compared with standard care. The project is carried out by a consortium of academic and healthcare Swedish partners.