Cancer care remains one of the most complex challenges for modern healthcare systems. While radiotherapy continues to play a central role in the treatment of more than half of all cancer patients, increasing clinical complexity and expanding biological knowledge are driving the need for new therapeutic paradigms. Advanced radiation delivery techniques, innovative diagnostic tools, novel radiopharmaceuticals and radiotracers are essential to further improve cancer treatment precision, reduce toxicity, and enable truly personalized oncological care. Among advanced radiation delivery techniques, the possibility of exploiting Ultra High Dose Rate and the FLASH effect, has attracted considerable interest opening new perspectives for the treatment of radio-resistant tumors, potentially shortening treatment times, and improving the overall sustainability of healthcare systems. Other modalities are also emerging, like the mini and micro-beam approach that could provide standalone-alone effective solutions or could be combined with the sparing effect of UHDR beams and FLASH.
Within this evolving landscape, the Spoke 1 – Advanced Radiotherapies and Diagnostics in Oncology of the Tuscany Health Ecosystem has fostered a broad, multidisciplinary collaboration among Tuscan research centers, hospitals, and technology developers to close the gap between lab and clinics, also enabling leaps towards technology readiness and industry engagement.
The workshop “Advanced Radiotherapies and Diagnostics in Oncology” is conceived as a platform to explore future developments sparked by this extensive regional collaboration. By bringing together physicists, biologists, engineers, clinicians, and industry partners, the event highlights the value of integrated research models in advancing and translating emerging oncological technologies.
The central aim of the meeting is to engage national and international experts in a forward-looking discussion on new research directions, emerging technologies, and opportunities for international collaboration beyond the Italian PNRR framework. The workshop seeks to identify shared priorities and potential joint initiatives capable of accelerating innovation and clinical impact at both European and global levels.
Hosted in Pisa at the CNR Research Area, the event marks the conclusion of the PNRR-funded activities of the Spoke 1 project, while simultaneously serving as a starting point for new scientific trajectories. By strengthening the link between advanced research and clinical practice through innovation, the workshop underscores Tuscany’s ambition to position itself as a reference hub for next-generation radiotherapy and oncological diagnostics, open to international partnerships and long-term collaborative growth.
A visit will be organized during the workshop to the Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory of the National Institute of Optics that operates inside the CNR campus in Pisa.
The workshop topics include:
- Innovative Approaches to Oncologic Radiotherapy: Radiation Sources
- Radiobiological Effects of Ionizing Radiation: Mechanisms, Modelling, and Experimental Validation
- High dose rate and FLASH Radiotherapy: from Preclinical to Clinical
- Advanced Diagnostics of Radiation Deposition and Conformality
- Tumor-Targeted Radionuclides, Radiotracers and Radiopharmaceuticals
For further information about the "THE-Spoke1" project activities and participants check the pages of the previous events:
