Contributing to the fight against cancer in France

On 21 March 2013, the Administrative Council approved a loan worth € 50 million in favour of the public company Cyclotron for Hadron Therapy (CYCLHAD). This loan will contribute to financing the construction of buildings and the purchase of highly sophisticated equipment, within the framework of the installation of a new centre for cancer research, screening and treatment in Caen, in the Region of Basse-Normandie.

Medical researchThe fight against cancer is a top public health priority in France. 

The figures speak for themselves. According to studies mandated by the authorities, cancer has ranked as the first cause of death in the country since 1989. It represents one third of all deaths in men and almost a quarter in women. 

The total number of deaths attributed to cancer in France in 2011, which came close to 150 000, represents a higher figure than that attributed to all other causes of death taken individually.

Hadron therapy

Thanks to progress in research, a new form of treatment, known as hadron therapy, has recently been raising hopes of a breakthrough in the fight against the disease. 

From a technical point of view, hadron therapy is a derivative of radiotherapy. Its primary particularity is that, compared with the techniques currently used, it makes it possible to more accurately target the cancerous cells, which means it causes less damage to the surrounding tissue while at the same time delivering lower doses of radiation, thereby causing less harm to the body.

The CYCHLAD project is one of the component parts of a wider project undertaken within the framework of the French national plan for the fight against cancer.

The objective is to create, in Caen, a centre for cancer treatment bringing together well-known scientists from the worlds of medicine and nuclear physics. 

Once inaugurated, this centre will be endowed with the most state-of-the-art hadron therapy equipment in France.

Through cooperation programmes with colleagues in other countries, the centre will also have an important European dimension.

The CEB funds will serve to finance various aspects of the project, such as the building  containing the system for hadron therapy treatment, the costs of purchasing the equipment itself as well as diverse associated infrastructure.

“The CEB loan has been set up in close cooperation with the French authorities in charge of the project and tailored to the specific needs of its implementation”, said Holger Seifert, Country Manager for France. 

“The new centre will make it possible to rapidly put into  practice major scientific and technical advances, the fallout from which could prove very significant for the wellbeing of patients suffering from cancer.”


 

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