The Moroccan group Oncorad has just entered an unprecedented advance in the landscape of African cancerology. His study on combined prostate cancer treatment was published in the American journal Advances in Radiation Oncologya first for an oncology center on the continent.
Morocco records a major scientific breakthrough in the fight against cancer. The ONCORAD group, based in Casablanca, has become the first African center to publish a clinical study in Advances in Radiation OncologyReference medical review published by Elsevier in partnership with the American Society for Radiation ONCOLOGY (ASTRO).
The article, validated by an international reading committee, relates to the effectiveness of a protocol associating brachytherapy with high speed dose (HDR) and external radiotherapy for high -risk prostate cancers. Carried out on more than 120 patients, this study is the widest clinical series ever published in Africa and the MENA region on this treatment. The results display a 92 %remission rate, without clinically significant toxicity.
This protocol, widely recognized in developed countries, was applied in an African context with clinical results deemed ” comparable to international standards “, According to the authors. The study also includes patients from other countries, illustrating the regional scope of Oncorad Group.
The project was led by a multidisciplinary Moroccan team led by Professor Redouane Samlali, founder of the group, and his son, Doctor Hamza Samlali, principal investigator. He mobilized Moroccan medical researchers, medical physicists and clinicians, including Pr Hassan Jouhadi, head of the department of oncology at the Casablanca University Hospital.
The publication devotes the increasing scientific ambition of Morocco in terms of clinical research, in particular on cancers of high prevalence. It also marks the recognition of national radiotherapeutic expertise often underrepresented in the international medical literature.
In addition to this success, the ONCORAD’s research unit, active within the Le Littoral clinic, continues several innovative projects relating to robot-assisted surgery, adaptive radiotherapy, as well as genetic cancer biomarkers.
Through this scientific contribution, Morocco positions itself as a pioneer of oncology medicine adapted to contexts with limited resources, while promoting a harmonization of therapeutic practices on the continent. The ONCORAD group intends to continue on this path, by strengthening its academic cooperation and by multiplying major scientific publications.
MK/AC/SF/APA
