This new radiotherapy platform was supported by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes with a contribution of 468,200 euros as part of the health project call “support for medical and scientific teams in the department in the field of health and cancer fighting” launched in November 2005 (*). The devices enhance the precision of irradiation while preserving healthy tissues thanks to new micro-leaf collimators with a thickness of 5mm compared to 10mm for the old collimators.
With these two new particle accelerators, the Antoine Lacassagne center possesses one of the most sophisticated technical platforms in France with, now, three particle accelerators, high dose rate brachytherapy, a Cyberknifeยฎ, and a cyclotron.
Let’s recall that the Cyberknifeยฎ, for which the General Council allocated 800,000 euros, was installed at the CAL in 2006, and the first treatments began in November of the same year. This apparatus can locate the position of a tumor and compensate for the patient’s movement during treatment, ensuring precise optimization. Non-invasive, it causes fewer complications than traditional surgery for the patient and avoids pain. To date, nearly 400 patients have received Cyberknife treatment (40% of these patients are from the Alpes-Maritimes). The organs treated include the lung, spine, breast, and brain.
