ProPOSE: Proton therapy in Pregnancy for Optimal, Safe and Effective cancer treatment

During pregnancy the use of radiotherapy is usually considered as a prohibited topic due to the associated fetal risks, while the suboptimal treatment of pregnant women and delay in radiotherapy until after delivery can be harmful for both the patient’s and child’s outcome. The use of more advanced techniques, such as proton therapy, with a lower stray radiation
and therefore a decreased fetal risk opens new perspectives in the treatment of cancer during pregnancy.
Through phantom measurement and computational simulations, the ProPOSE project will quantify the fetal radiation dose during proton therapy and set out evidence-based guidelines and practical tools for the optimal and safe use of proton therapy during pregnancy.
This knowledge will be implemented nationally and internationally for the treatment of cancer during pregnancy, allowing more pregnant cancer patients to undergo a radiotherapeutic treatment that is both safe and effective.