In 2021, the department of radiotherapy at the CCHE57357 has acquired unprecedented technologies within the field and has provided a total of 17,060 radiotherapy sessions to a total of 833 patients between January and November 2021. The top-notch technologies include the Cyber Knife which is expected to be operational in February 2022, while the Proton Therapy will be available soon after. The Cyberknife is the first ever in Egypt and the robotic radio surgery system that offers highly precise non-surgical treatment for tumors which in some cases could be a better alternative to surgery and conventional radiation therapy.
“CCHE57357 would be the first pediatric oncology hospital in Africa to adopt proton therapy.” reveals Dr. Mohamed Saad Zaghloul head of the radiotherapy department at CCHE57357, explaining the advantage of the proton therapy that would enable the hospital to save time, costs and to provide patients with the best treatment possible with least side effects if compared to traditional treatment. The 2 new technologies have the particularity of producing minimal side effects and a higher degree of tumor ablation
On another front, the department has released nine research papers published in internationally renowned journals with high impact factors in the field of pediatric radiation oncology. One of the papers was published in the Green Journal, which is one of the most prestigious journals in the field, presenting the hospital’s experience in the field of radiotherapy. Another paper shared ten years of the hospital’s experience in treating diffuse brain stem tumours emphasizing the hospital’s leading role in treating such kinds of tumors in the world and presenting the hospital’s experience in treating one of the most complicated tumors in pediatrics , the craniopharyngioma tumor.
During the present year, Dr. Mohamed S.Zaghloul has participated in many national and international oncology conferences aimed at sharing the hospital’s extensive experience within the field. As a speaker, Dr. Zaghloul has shared his experience while participating in the American Society of Radiation Oncology , the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international conferences, addressing the latest trends in pediatric radiation oncology. He attended the annual conference that gathered Egyptian medical scientists outside and inside Egypt to discuss the latest technologies within the field of oncology.
Furthermore, as a result of the unprecedented practical experience of the department of radiotherapy at CCHE 57357, it provides many training programs, including the Egyptian radiation oncology, radiation physicist, and radiation technologist fellowships. The department trained a total of 35 candidates, including two participants from the CCHE57357 – Dana Farber pediatric radiation oncology fellowship and five trainees from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in addition to the targeted training programmes for physicists and physicians that are regularly held during the summer.
The department of radiotherapy aims at presenting the highest standard of quality healthcare services according to the international standards of care to all hospital patients.