WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4168/97 by Eryl McNALLY to the Commission. Research funding in the EU for radiotherapy damage resulting from radiotherapy treatment, and 'best practice' in other EU countries
Date: 1998-01-21
Institutions: European Parliament, MCNALLY
Subjects: EU financing, cancer, health risk, medical research, public health, radiation protection, research expenditure (EU), therapeutics

C 187/136

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16. 6. 98

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 1998)

The Commission is not aware of the facts referred to by the Honourable Member. It is investigating the matter
with the Member States concerned in order to gather the necessary information for an assessment of the case. If it
were to transpire that the firm ATR did receive state aid in the context of the order by Vietnam Airlines, the
Commission would go on to examine its compatibility with the common market.

(98/C 187/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4168/97

by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission

(21 January 1998)

Subject: Research funding in the EU for radiotherapy damage resulting from radiotherapy treatment, and (cid:145)best

practice(cid:146) in other EU countries

I recently received a letter in my constituency in  the UK from an  organization striving to  improve  access  to
information  designed  to  alert  women  to  all  the  possible  side-effects,  both  short-term  and  long-term,  of
radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer.

What  research  funding  is  available  within  the  EU  for  research  into  radiotherapy  damage  resulting  from
radiotherapy treatment?

What  research  is  being  undertaken  within  the  EU  into  radiotherapy  damage  resulting  from  radiotherapy
treatment?

What is the (cid:145)best practice(cid:146) approach taken in other EU countries with regard to radiotherapy treatment?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(9 February 1998)

Research  into  the  side-effects  of  radiotherapy  is  supported  by  the  Community  within  research  area  (cid:145)cancer
research(cid:146) of the specific research programme 1994-1998 in the field of biomedecine and health › Biomed 2 (1).
The indicative programme allocation for all cancer research is 33.5 MECU. The bulk of cancer research funding
is made available on the level of Member States.

The Commission is supporting one research project dealing with tissue damage following radiotherapy under the
Biomed 2 programme. The project, with a budget of 410,784 ECU, brings together 14 research groups in Europe
to develop methods by which patients most at risk of radiotherapy complications can be identified. The main aim
is the individualisation of dose prescription. Tissue and blood specimens are taken before treatment begins and
subjected in the laboratory to a series of tests aimed at achieving the best possible prediction of normal-tissue
tolerance to radiation therapy. This approach will improve patient management by reducing risk of damage while
improving on the patient treatment. One of the aims of the project is to develop (cid:145)best practice(cid:146) approach which
could be applied in the participating centres.

Moreover, the Commission programme (cid:145)Europe against cancer(cid:146) supported several studies on quality assurance
and other measures to improve the standards of radiotherapy treatment in Europe. All these studies are conducted
by  the  European  society  for  therapeutic  radiology  and  oncology  (ESTRO) (2).  In  1995,  a  quality  assurance
document  in  radiotherapy  was  published  in  the  book  (cid:145)Radiotherapy  and  oncology(cid:146) (3).  At  present  ESTRO
provides, with the support of the Commission, international training courses to raise the quality of education for
radiotherapy in Europe.

(1)  OJ L 361, 31.12.1994.
(2)  ESTRO, Av. E. Mounier 83, 1200 Brussels › Tel.: 02/775.93.40.
(3)  Radiotherapy and oncology 35 (1995) 61-73 › Ed. Elsevier.