IFIC collaborates in the first international manual of supportive care therapies for cancer patients

Wed, 14/12/2022 - 01:25

A group of researchers from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics has collaborated in the publication of the first international manual of supportive therapies for cancer patients. Coordinated by the iOncoCare association, the aim of the work is to help healthcare personnel design treatments against each patient’s tumour.

The moment doctors are faced with a cancer patient, it is not only important to choose the type of therapy they will receive, but also to provide global care that is adjusted to the situation of the person who suffers from it. Conditioning factors such as pain or other symptoms, the patient’s own psychology and their way of coping with the disease, the social support they have, the resources or simply their cultural level provide nuances that can drastically influence the type of treatment to be administered.

The recently published manual of therapies contains 108 chapters and has the collaboration of 270 authors, from interns in training to international opinion leaders from 25 specialties, 59 hospitals and scientific and research institutions, and 9 countries. The volume is already published in paper format and in digital format (APP) in English, and now they are preparing for the edition of the book in Spanish and Portuguese.

Among the contributors are Francisco Albiol and Salvador Tortajada, IFIC researchers, who also participate in the National Technical Committee for Quality in Medical Imaging along the Patient Pathway UNE 179/GT15 and in the certification of radiotherapy devices, as well as Alberto Albiol, researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), who participates in the IFIC collaboration in the project.

The IFIC has focused its participation on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to help decision-making in the different phases that a cancer patient goes through: screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. The contribution also focuses on the use of best practices when implementing AI-based technologies and covers several applications that are currently approved by the FDA as clinical devices. The work involves a broad review of most of the issues related to cancer symptoms and their treatments, as well as the ways and tools that allow the best approach between the patient and the doctor.

iOncoCare is an international non-profit association whose objective is the creation, promotion, and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the area of supportive therapies in cancer patients. It is dedicated to studying the medical treatment of support to chemotherapy, surgery, or radiotherapy of people with cancer.

El manual accesible para todos los médicos de todas las especialidades que entran en contacto con personas con cáncer y necesitan una guía de orientación rápida y eficiente para resolver los problemas de los pacientes. El impacto práctico en la actuación de los médicos es inmenso, así como el impacto en la difusión de los contenidos. The accessible manual for all doctors of all specialties who come into contact with people with cancer and need a quick and efficient orientation guide to solve patient problems. The practical impact on the performance of doctors is immense, as is the impact on the dissemination of content.

De izq. a dcha. Salvador Tortajada y Francisco Albiol, investigadores del IFIC