Thesis

Exploring Advanced 3D Models of Breast and Lung Cancer for Evaluation of Proton and FLASH Radiotherapy

• Call:

  ProtoTera Call 2023/2

• Academic Year:

  2023

• Supervisor:

  Filipa Mendes

• Co-Supervisor:

  Joao Seco

• Host Institution:

  C2TN - Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares

• Granting Degree Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico (Universidade de Lisboa)

• Typology:

  Mixed

• Abroad Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico (Universidade de Lisboa)

• Abroad Supervisor:

• Abstract:

  Cancer 3D models, such as spheroids, organoids, and tumoroids have gained relevancy during the past years due to their better ability to mimic the tumor microenvironment, a key factor in tumor drug response. Radiotherapy approaches in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs have been used as a treatment for several types of cancer. This project aims to study how photon and proton radiotherapy (conventional or FLASH) and chemotherapy affect the microenvironment of different cancers and their biological and therapeutic consequences. Gaining a deeper understanding of the effects of novel therapies using breast and lung cancer 3D models can be a crucial step in the attempt to push the frontiers of existing understanding and improve cancer therapy. This project will entail a thorough investigation of the possible synergy between proton therapy and chemotherapy, profiting from the knowledge in medical physics and radiobiology of the research teams involved. The proposed PhD project brings together two renowned academic institutions, the Center for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies (C2TN) from Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, and the Division of Biomedical Physics in Radiation Oncology group from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), thus involving a multidisciplinary team. The research domains proposed by this project are within the scope of action of the FCT and ProtoTera Association partnership, sharing the same ambition of improving the outcome of treatment of breast and lung cancers.