Hadrontherapy: Advancing Cancer Research in Lyon

Lyon is advancing research in hadrontherapy, a specialized form of cancer treatment using charged particles such as carbon ions, through the ongoing development of the ETOILE project and its integration into the national France HADRON infrastructure.

The ETOILE project, initiated in 1999 by Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), brought together French doctors and physicists to design a specification for a Light Ion Hadrontherapy Centre. Under the auspices of UCBL and with support from local authorities and the Ministry of Research, a preliminary design was developed in collaboration between the university and research partners.

This effort led to the creation of the Regional Programme of Research in Radiation Therapy (PRRH), which united around a dozen scientific teams, mostly academic, from institutions across the Rhône-Alpes region, including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne, and Lyon. The programme involved approximately sixty participants working to establish a comprehensive research framework for hadrontherapy.

The Rhône-Alpes region funded the PRRH and the ETOILE-center project with more than €4 million over 14 years, from 2000 to 2014, through two successive Plan Etat-Région contracts. This sustained support helped establish the scientific and clinical foundations for hadrontherapy in France.

The success and attractiveness of the PRRH, combined with the emergence of other hadrontherapy initiatives such as the Asclepius project and ARCHADE in Caen, prompted consideration of a national coordination effort. In 2010, the Group of Sanitary Cooperation ETOILE, led by Professor Jacques Balosso — who had overseen the development of the Centre ETOILE — took the initiative to file a national infrastructure project under the health and biotechnology section of the PIA (“Grand Loan”) tender.

This action positioned the PRRH and the ETOILE-center project as the initiators of France HADRON, a national infrastructure that now incorporates nearly all hadrontherapy research and clinical efforts in France. Although the proposed ETOILE-Centre was not realized due to the absence of a final state decision, the France HADRON network continues to structure and finance collaboration across the country.

The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) has confirmed the relevance of hadrontherapy, particularly carbon ion therapy, for treating certain tumors that are resistant to conventional therapies, primarily those located in the head and neck region. This recognition supports the clinical value of the approach being researched and developed through the Lyon-based initiatives.

The acquisition of land within the Bioparc in Lyon’s 8th arrondissement by the Groupement de Coopération represents a concrete step toward establishing a physical facility for hadrontherapy in the city, should the project move forward.

Through sustained regional investment, academic collaboration, and national infrastructure integration, Lyon remains a central hub for advancing hadrontherapy research in France, contributing to efforts to expand access to this precision radiotherapy option for patients with challenging cancers.