Advancing personalization of cancer radiotherapy treatment

New affiliation expands clinical dimension of Department of Cancer Research

• Department of Cancer Research
• Cancer
• Clinical Research

Professor Guillaume Vogin, Director of the Centre François Baclesse, has recently joined LIH as an affiliated clinician-scientist, incorporating radiotherapy-focused clinical and pre-clinical research within the Department of Cancer Research at the LIH.

Radiotherapy is an effective treatment applied in 50% of cancer patients. Despite its positive impact on survival, 10-15% of patients experience sequelae that can affect their quality of life. Deciphering the mechanisms and determinants that lead to these adverse effects could provide more tailored and personalised approaches to radiotherapy, in terms of prediction of radiation tolerance, technique adaptation, diagnosis and prediction of early treatment complications, as well as reversal of side effects.

A collaboration agreement was signed in December 2021 between the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Centre François Baclesse (CFB) – the national radiotherapy centre of Luxembourg. In this context, Prof Guillaume Vogin, Director of CFB, was appointed ‘affiliated clinician-scientist’ to LIH to develop a research programme focussing on radiotherapy-induced toxicity mechanisms at the LIH’s Department of Cancer Research.

Prof Vogin’s research will encompass molecular studies of radio-toxicity as well as clinical studies to improve radiotherapy efficacy while limiting side effects. Indeed, the research programme envisions to integrate quantitative imaging data with a radiomics approach into the diagnosis and follow-up of sequelae. The studies will search for additional individual radiation sensitivity biomarkers using novel research avenues developed at the LIH. Collaborations with LIH’s Bioinformatics team of Dr Petr Nazarov and the Translational Radiomics group of Dr Olivier Keunen are foreseen. The programme also envisions including a formal collaboration with Dr Isabelle Behm-Ansmant, from the University of Lorraine, in a joint effort to validate previously identified individual radiosensitivity biomarkers. The project will then discover, validate, protect, and apply novel radiomics biomarkers in the context of radiation-induced toxicity and build decision-making tools in clinical practice.

Professor Guillaume Vogin (MD, PhD), general and medical director of the Centre François Baclesse, is a professor at both Lorraine and Luxembourg Universities. He brings to the LIH expertise in particle radiotherapy, sarcoma, paediatrics and central-nervous system malignancies, with a specialty in unusual radiation toxicity or suspected radiosensitivity. He has extensive experience in cutting-edge translational research to understand the effects of radiation on RNA.

We are honoured to welcome Prof Vogin to our Department. Prof Vogin is a highly reputed scientist and healthcare practitioner in the field of radiation oncology. Our collaboration is fully in line with LIH’s strategy to implement clinically-oriented research with a direct impact on patient care. Prof.’s Vogin’s program aims to identify biomarkers that can help personalise radiotherapy treatment to each patient, therefore making it more efficient while limiting side effects. The program will benefit from LIH’s research infrastructure and state-of-the-art support services for translational and clinical studies, which ensures that we bring concrete solutions to patients sooner.

commented Prof Simone Niclou, Director of the Department of Cancer Research and group leader of the NORLUX Neuro-Oncology Laboratory.

As a teacher, Prof Vogin is leading a European program developing innovative multi-professional educational initiatives for radiation oncology to serve quality of care in the Greater Region and prevent radiation toxicity and accidents. He is the author of 50 original peer-reviewed papers and four book chapters and monographs. Throughout his career, Guillaume Vogin has been the recipient of several French and European awards (Academie de Stanislas, Fondation des Treilles, Societe Franfaise de Pediatrie, Renaissance Frangaise, Lucien Mallet Medal, Fondation Nuovo- Soldati). He is member of the French Society of Radiation Oncology, the French Society of Pediatric Oncology, the International Society of French-speaking Radiobiologists, the European Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology and the International Aerospace Medical Association. In 2018, Pr. Prof Vogin was elected “Young Neuro-Oncologists” of the EORTC Brain Tumour Group.