Hi there! For the coming weeks, our blog will be dedicated to our Young SIOP Award winners!
Please meet Joeri Mul, YI from the Netherlands, in his own words.
I am a PhD candidate at the Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology and University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands (supervised by assoc. prof. G.O. Janssens, dr. M. van Grotel and prof. dr. MM van den Heuvel-Eibrink).
Our projects involved the development of a consensus statement for highly-conformal flank target volume delineation applicable for image-guided radiotherapy. Through intensive collaboration with the SIOP-RTSG, a guideline was realized that consists of eight chronological steps, including the optional use of fiducials, to generate highly conformal flank volumes for pediatric patients with renal tumors (Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2020; Radiother Oncol 2021). For the preparation and refinement of this guideline, we led an international multicenter delineation exercise initiative and demonstrated that centralized radiotherapy review of the target volumes is required to safely implement this new approach on a larger scale (Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 2021). In addition, the estimated clinical benefit and loco-regional control from the Dutch national cohort of pediatric renal tumors have been analyzed (Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 2021; Radiother Oncol 2021).
This new approach for highly conformal flank irradiation will be implemented in the SIOP-RTSG 2016 UMBRELLA protocol for children with renal tumors and a prospective study will be launched to evaluate the guideline in a multicenter setting using radiotherapy quality assurance prior to onset of treatment. Consequently, our projects may contribute towards a safe reduction of radiotherapy related side effects and improvement of the quality of cure for the future for pediatric renal tumor patients and survivors.
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