Changing of the guard in Radiotherapy at Humanitas Gavazzeni. After 15 years Dr Vittorio Vavassori, who had created this department of the hospital from scratch as soon as it became part of the Humanitas Group, leaves to retire. Now leading radiotherapy, a fundamental discipline today in the treatment of many forms of cancer, is Dr. Rosario Mazzola, recently appointed associate professor at «Humanitas University».
Rosario Mazzola, 41 years old, comes from the Irccs «Sacro Cuore don Calabria di Negrar» of Valpolicella (Verona) where – since 2016 – he has held the position of medical director. «The radiotherapy of Humanitas Gavazzeni is a point of reference in the area for thousands of patients with undisputed recognition for the quality of care, the multidisciplinary management of oncological pathologies, the professionalism of healthcare workers – says Professor Mazzola -. The challenge that brought me to Bergamo is to continue the excellent work done so far by further contributing to the growth, modernization and technological implementation of the department. In addition, we will develop aspects related to research and training in synergy with Humanitas University.”
In just a few decades, radiotherapy has truly made great strides, contributing to the treatment of multiple tumors in all phases of the disease. In many cases, radiotherapy represents a curative treatment alone or in combination with other therapies or new drugs, with a significant benefit for cancer patients in terms of survival without affecting their quality of life. «Today, radiation treatments are increasingly precise, targeted on the tumor target and able to spare the surrounding healthy tissues – states the new head of Radiotherapy at Humanitas Gavazzeni -. In the contemporary era, the so-called “precision radiotherapy” takes into account not only ballistic/technological peculiarities, but also personalization paths and treatment strategies thanks to recent biological and clinical knowledge linked to our discipline”.
On the new technologies front, a highly updated linear accelerator (TrueBeam HD) capable of significantly improving radiotherapy performance has recently come into action in the Humanitas Gavazzeni machine park. «It represents a new possibility of effective treatment for our patients in the context of highly complex treatments, such as radiosurgery or stereotactic radiotherapy. These latest radiotherapy treatment techniques allow the delivery of anti-tumor ablative doses both in the localized phase of the disease (for example in localized prostate or lung cancer in the early phase) and in the metastatic phase, with high response rates, with a limited number of sessions » explains Professor Mazzola.
