Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

The Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS is one of the largest hospitals in Italy as well as in Europe with an in-patient capacity of 1526 beds and 5322 employees. Located in Rome, it is an university referral hospital with the adoption of highly advanced technology.

Starting 1964, the Hospital has seen uninterrupted growth in the areas of patient service, research, and personnel development.

The “Policlinico Gemelli” and the School of Medicine of “Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore” are placed at the heart of the Italian health system, by developing and spreading a national and international reference model regarding management, organization, technology and humanization in medicine.

GEMELLI ART and IOC

Gemelli ART (Advanced Radiation Therapy) is the name of the Radiation Oncology Centre, which is a highly specialized Centre offering inpatients and outpatients cutting-edge clinical treatments – using latest technical developments of the field.

The IOC (Interventional Oncology Center) is part of the Gemelli ART. In the IOC, interventional radiotherapy procedures for gynecological and pelvic/abdominal tumours, as well as those for  head & neck cancer are carried out with the help of modern imaging techniques and using interdisciplinary cooperation tools.

At Gemelli Art, the patient’s clinical and therapeutic process is defined by a dedicated Multidisciplinary Tumor Board (MTB), representing the expertise of multidisciplinary management of cancer patients; enabling the optimization of therapeutic decisions and improving the communication with the patient and between the various health care specialists. At Gemelli ART, the multidisciplinary patient management process is supported by dedicated computer systems, which combine latest technology and mobile devices.

Interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy)

Gemelli Hospital introduced the interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy) service in the 1970ies

The hospital was quick and successful to adopt this radiotherapy technique – has been offered the CT-based treatment planning as one of the first institutions in 2004 and from 2012 the MRI based interventional procedures started being part of the daily routine.

Gemelli Hospital has an extensive brachytherapy service with a special focus on gynecological tumors (endometrium, cervix, vagina, and vulva), head & neck, anal, rectal, prostate, ocular, biliary tract, esophagus, breast, skin and sarcoma tumors. Moreover, a special focus on interdisciplinary perioperative approaches is present.

The center has an impressive brachytherapy facility and a dedicated interventional radiotherapy team of 3 expert radiation oncologists, 1 physicist, 2 technicians and 2 nurses that work in 2 dedicated operative rooms. Furthermore, 1 dosimetry-, 1 out-patient service room is available completed with a dedicated ward.

Around 400 patients receive brachytherapy treatments per year with more than 1100 sessions. The center is equipped with HDR, PDR and LDR image-based treatment facilities, and is recognized as an expert national center.

From 2015 the Hospital is a designated global Educational Center in Brachytherapy techniques, with a special focus on Head & Neck, Prostate, Gynaecological, Anal/Rectum, Skin and Ocular malignancies.

Furthermore, the hospital hosts regular clinical workshops for radiation oncologists and medical physicists as well as specialized nurses.

The IOC is happy to host in-house observational visitors of any related specialties and degrees. Such visits could be organized for people wishing to learn more about all kind of tumors treated in the Interventional Oncology Center where they can observe clinical workflows and daily practices as well as department organization at first hand.