Photodynamic therapy triggered by spectral scanner CT: an efficient tool for cancer treatment

According to Eurostat, cancer accounts for the second cause of death in Europe. We are aiming at a breakthrough technology that will contribute to increase drastically patients five years survival and have significant positive impact on their quality of life. Such ambition will be reached thanks to a new future technology that will ensure the efficient treatment of cancer with low side-effects (even if radioresistant), allow to perform accurate diagnostic and give access to in situ monitoring of the treatment. The other ground-breaking aspect of this technology is the fact that everything will take place at the same time, with the same machine which will be much less stressful and disturbing for patients compared to other treatment. SCANnTREAT is based on the association of cutting-edge technologies: spectral photon counting scanner CT (SPCCT) which is a ground-breaking imaging modality and a new X-ray based treatment known as X-rays activated Photodynamic Therapy (X-PDT). The perfect match between these two technologies will be ensured with specifically designed probes acting both as contrast media and therapeutic agents. The SCANnTREAT consortium will gather 3 academic and 1 industrial partners who are international leaders in their respective fields (chemistry, biochemistry, physics, radiobiology, experimental imaging, radiotherapy, clinics).