23rd (LAST) Seminar of HITRIplus - Decoding Radiobiological Mechanisms Behind Carbon-Ion Clinical Superiority

Monday 2 Mar 2026, 17:00 → 18:05 Europe/Zurich

ZOOM

Manjit Dosanjh (University of Oxford (GB)), Sandro Rossi (Fondazione CNAO)

Global general scientific seminars linked to the HITRIplus project activities organised in the context of WP2 Networking, Communication, and Dissemination.

To apply for beamtime, please follow the instructions on this page: https://hitriplus.eu/transnational-access/ 

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About Claire Rodriguez-Lafrasse :

Claire Rodriguez-Lafrasse is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine in Lyon (France) and a medical biologist at Lyon University Hospitals. She is Past President of the French Society for Radiation Biology and President of the National College of Professors of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Medicine. She founded the Cellular and Molecular Radiobiology team in 2001 and has led it since. In 2016, the team joined the Institute of Physics of the Two Infinities of Lyon (IP2I, CNRS UMR 5822) as part of an interdisciplinary initiative bridging physical sciences and health.

Since 2003, she and her team have explored the cellular and molecular determinants of tumor response to carbon-ion irradiation through national programmes (ETOILE, France HADRON), LabEx PRIMES, and European initiatives including MAMBA and HITRIplus. Their research connects complex DNA and protein damage, stress and cell-death pathways, and tumor microenvironment responses to therapeutic efficacy. Her “stealth-bomber” paradigm integrates these mechanisms into a unified model explaining the clinical advantage of carbon ions. In parallel, she evaluates radiosensitizing strategies, notably gadolinium-based nanoparticles (AGuIX, CuPRiX), and validates predictive biomarkers to support tumor stratification and personalized radiotherapy.

17:00 → 17:45 Decoding Radiobiological Mechanisms Behind Carbon-Ion Clinical Superiority

Synopsis
This seminar will explore the cellular and molecular determinants of tumor response to carbon-ion irradiation and present the “stealth-bomber” paradigm, developed from our cellular and preclinical studies, as a mechanistic explanation for the clinical advantage of carbon ions over conventional photon radiotherapy.

Abstract
This seminar addresses a key clinical question: which mechanistic features of carbon-ion irradiation explain its superior outcomes compared with photon radiotherapy?

Drawing on our recent work (Wozny & Rodriguez-Lafrasse, Br J Cancer 2023), I will present the “stealth-bomber” paradigm, highlighting the nanometric spatial organization of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a central determinant of biological effectiveness. The “bomber” component refers to the highly localized ROS distribution along carbon-ion tracks, inducing complex DNA and protein damage and strong molecular stress, leading to tumor cell death even in resistant and hypoxic conditions. The “stealth” component describes limited ROS diffusion outside the tracks, which dampens cellular danger signaling and restricts activation of repair and survival pathways.

I will show how these principles translate into therapeutic advantages in preclinical HNSCC models and how radiation quality influences tumor immune remodeling and synergy with anti–PD-1. Overall, the seminar connects molecular radiobiology to clinical benefit, offering a mechanistic rationale as France prepares to launch the C400 carbon-ion therapy center in Caen.

Speaker: Prof. Claire Rodriguez-Lafrasse

17:45 → 18:00 Discussion