Main achievements of the HARMONIC project: Health effects of cardiac fluoroscopy and modern radiotherapy in paediatrics

HARMONIC aims to better understand increased risk of cancer and non-cancer effects after exposure to medical ionising radiation in children. Two international paediatric cohorts were set up for long-term follow-up of i) cancer patients treated with modern external beam radiotherapy and ii) cardiac patients treated with cardiac fluoroscopy procedures. The objectives are to investigate potential endocrine dysfunction, cardiovascular and
neurovascular damage, health-related quality of life, and second (and subsequent) primary cancer following photon and proton therapy while also investigating further potential risks of cancer together with the modifying factors of the observed association in the cardiac paediatric population. Dosimetry software tools were developed in the framework of the project to facilitate the reconstruction of organ doses in both cohorts and enable
epidemiological investigations, as well as future optimisation of treatments. With the creation of a biobank of blood samples, HARMONIC aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of radiation-induced adverse health effects and identify potential biomarkers that can predict these effects. The main achievements of the project and its exploitable results will be presented, along with some perspectives for the future.