Oncology Clinics Europe

Medical Port partnered with CRP Clinic in Oporto for Radiotherapy treatments. Radiotherapy is a type of treatment used both in oncology and in benign tumors. It uses ionizing radiation – the most frequent radiation is the x-ray, the same as the one used in radiographs but with higher energy – to destroy or block cell growth. For oncologic treatments, the dose is planned so that the healthy cells can recover from the alterations radiation makes and at the same time, malignant cells are eliminated. Radiotherapy is used also to reduce tumor volume, to alleviate symptoms like pain or blood loss.In the scope of Prostate Radiotherapy, CRP is the only centre in Portugal to introduce an innovative device to protect the rectum through all radiotherapy course. This device - bio-protective balloon - allows to properly move the rectum out of the treatment field in order to avoid acute and late toxicity related complications. For breast cancer, CRP does Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) which is a very innovative surgery in Europe. CRP was the first center in Europe to adopt this procedure in 2012 in breast surgery. Now, they are participating in a world level clinical trial as the European representative. This clinical trial is under the auspices of the United States National Cancer Institute and will study the effectiveness of this treatment instead of a conventional 6-week radiotherapy treatment.The treatment consists of applying a single dose of radiation, directly in the affected tissues and cells, right after the patient gets surgery, while the patient is still in the operating room. After a few minutes of radiation (8 to 14 minutes depending on the cell type), the patient can recover from the surgery and doesn’t have to face the conventional radiotherapy treatments.