Nuclear Science and Technology Delivers Hope to Cancer Patients Around the World

Spread across four regions, Rays of Hope Anchor Centres support the delivery of IAEA technical cooperation through training in oncology and medical physics and promote research to ensure the best use of limited resources.

Several new Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) in cancer care will be carried out with Anchor Centres to strengthen clinical practice and support programme delivery under Rays of Hope. The recently launched CRP on computed tomography-based prostate cancer contouring guided by AI verification represents a critical step in the radiotherapy planning process and all 18 Anchor Centres were invited to participate.

Anchor Centres also contribute data to the Sustainable United Network for Radiation Medicine Innovation and Scientific Excellence (SUNRISE) - a global database designed to compile robust, time-sensitive data from cancer centres to measure and demonstrate the impact of improvements in radiation medicine, with a focus on sustainability and cost-efficiency.

More than 500 professionals have taken part in in-person workshops organized at these hubs, with an additional 200 participating online.

Oncologists in Asia learned about advanced treatment techniques, such as ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy, which reduces treatment time and costs, and theranostics, a combined method to diagnose and treat tumours using radiopharmaceuticals.

In Europe, Central Asia and Latin America, radiation medicine professionals exchanged best practices in paediatric oncology to improve cancer care for children.

To support long-term sustainability, the IAEA continue to provide targeted training to the Anchor Centres, equipping the network to extend expertise and support to neighbouring countries.

"Shortly after joining Rays of Hope as an Anchor Centre, we participated in an IAEA workshop on developing standardized training for gynaecological cancers and received virtual-reality tools from the Agency to practise brachytherapy procedures. This support has enabled us to adopt a more structured and harmonized training approach, which we now extend to professionals across our region through our Anchor Centre," said Dr. Umesh Mahantshetty, a radiation oncologist from Tata Memorial Centre.