A Unique Collaboration, A Single Goal
To address the need for better, more accessible cancer care in LMICs, a group of experts from different professional backgrounds, cultures, and countries formed an alliance. The group—radiation oncologists, physicists, biomedical researchers, healthcare executives, and advanced computing experts—had one goal in common: they were determined to increase access to high-quality cancer treatment and care for underserved populations across the globe.
A group of radiation oncologists, physicists, and biomedical researchers from over 15 countries have come together with a goal to shift the paradigm in cancer care in LMICs.
Their innovative project, Project STELLA (Smart Technologies to Extend Lives with Linear Accelerators), was conceived as a public/private partnership established by the Washington D.C.-based International Cancer Expert Corps (ICEC) with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council, its Daresbury Laboratory and Hartree Centre. The partnership also includes the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Lancaster University. This effort builds upon ICEC’s mission of improving cancer outcomes through its training and mentoring programs in LMICs.
Recognizing that access to quality cancer treatment in LMICs depends on the availability of radiation therapy, the group focused on increasing the availability of and access to cancer care and its essential radiation treatment in LMICs by developing a novel, state-of-the-art radiation therapy treatment system with an extensive mentoring program. According to C. Norman Coleman MD, Scientific Advisor to ICEC and its founder and the early leader of this initiative, the group was driven by the idea that “we can solve this problem,” by developing a transformative radiation therapy system that will cost less to acquire, operate, and maintain.
