Tools for providing information to patients about high-tech medical resources for treatment of cancer

Authors

  • Julie Gehl Department of Clinical Oncology and Palliative Care, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3829-0210
  • Tatiana Michel Department of Luxembourg Research Clinic, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0146-9236
  • Erik Rokkones Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • Soleakhena Ken Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse - Oncopole Claudius Regaud, Univ Toulouse France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7904-5882
  • Gregor Sersa Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7641-5670
  • Irene Torres-Espallardo Nuclear Medicine Department and Clinical Area of Medical Imaging, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4612-4629
  • Ester Orlandi Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Radiation Oncology Unit, Clinical Department, National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO), Pavia, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6495-8574
  • Laura Ridolfi Department of Medical Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori "Dino Amadori" (IRST), Meldola (FC), Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1870-3380
  • Nina Schmidt Department of Clinical Oncology and Palliative Care, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark
  • Ingrid Kruecken Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) Group, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Board of Europa Donna Luxembourg asbl, Strassen, Luxembourg; Board of Europa Donna – the European Breast Cancer Coalition, Milan, Italy; ESMO PAWG (Patient Advocates Working Group), Lugano, Switzerland
  • Barbara Leonardi Myeloma Patients Europe, Carita Foundation Poland, Wrocław, Poland
  • Margareta Haag Swedish Network against Cancer, President, Stockholm, Sweden; EUPATI Sweden, Board Member, Stockholm, Sweden; Member of OECI Working Group for patients, Rome, Italy
  • Aurélie Garcin Translational Research Department – SiRIC Curie, Institut Curie, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5147-0473
  • Anne-Laure Giraudet Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5366-1254
  • Sandrine Lavallé Department of Luxembourg Research Clinic, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
  • Colin Patrick Cantwell St. Vincents University Hospital and University College Dublin, Elm Park, Dublin, Ireland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2532-9422
  • Alexander Jorge Cortez Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland; Digital Medicine Center, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1284-2638
  • Chiara Marazzi CNAO National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy, 27100 Pavia, Italy https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8492-3551
  • Roger Olofsson Bagge Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Surgery, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Region Västra Götaland, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5795-0355
  • Massimiliano Petrini Experimental and Clinical Oncology of Immunotherapy and Rare Cancers, Immuno-Gene Therapy Factory, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori "Dino Amadori" (IRST), Meldola (FC), Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8942-0890
  • Francesca Bonifazi IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1544-9911
  • Vincent Bourbonne Service de Radiothérapie, Institut de Cancérologie et d'Imagerie, CHU Brest, France; INSERM, LaTIM, UMR 1101, Université de Bretagne Occidental, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2631-0029
  • Frédéric Courbon Institut Univ. Cancer Toulouse Oncopole, Toulouse, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1279-2362
  • Ibrahim Edhemović Department of Surgical Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Faculty of Medicine Ljubljana, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8122-7896
  • Lisa Licitra Medical Oncology 3 Department, Fondazione IRCCS Instituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy; Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0623-4118
  • Sergio Roman-Roman Translational Research Department – SiRIC Curie, Institut Curie, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6459-2613
  • Jean-Yves Blay Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7190-120X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2026.45529

Keywords:

Patient navigation, Nuclear Medicine, Radiomics, Radiotherapy, Surgery, Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy, Ablation Techniques

Abstract

Background and purpose: High-tech medical resources play an increasingly important role in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, accessing information about these technologies remains challenging due to their complexity and a lack of clear information pathways to obtain reliable information. This, in turn, contributes to inequalities in healthcare.

Patient/material and methods: The Joint Action Network of Expertise on Cancer (JANE-2) is one of the largest networks under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. In JANE-2, the work package on High-Tech Medical Resources comprises seven domains of rapidly evolving technologies, namely Nuclear Medicine, Radiomics, Innovative Radiotherapy, Innovative Surgery, Physical Methods of Ablation, Cell Therapies, and Ex-vivo Testing of Agents. Leaders from these domains, together with patient representatives, have authored a review of the challenges of providing patients with information about high-tech medical resources, and have proposed potential solutions.

Results: This article describes the challenges associated with providing adequate information to patients, the resulting consequences, and potential solutions. The article also specifically describes technologies related to the seven high-tech domains that are central to cancer treatment. Patient information tools related to these technologies are provided as supplementary material to the article.

Interpretation: Cancer diagnosis and treatment are not only becoming increasingly effective but also more complex with the adoption of novel technologies. This article discusses the challenges and potential solutions related to the availability of patient information and provides examples of patient information tools for seven key and rapidly advancing technologies.

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2026-10-02

How to Cite

Gehl, J., Michel, T., Rokkones, E., Ken, S., Sersa, G., Torres-Espallardo, I., … Blay, J.-Y. (2026). Tools for providing information to patients about high-tech medical resources for treatment of cancer. Acta Oncologica, 65, 818–835. https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2026.45529

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Vol. 65 (2026): Acta Oncologica

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Review article

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Copyright (c) 2026 Julie Gehl, Tatiana Michel, Erik Rokkones, Soleakhena Ken, Gregor Sersa, Irene Torres-Espallardo, Ester Orlandi, Laura Ridolfi, Nina Schmidt, Ingrid Kruecken, Barbara Leonardi, Margareta Haag, Aurélie Garcin, Anne-Laure Giraudet, Sandrine Lavallé, Colin Patrick Cantwell, Alexander Jorge Cortez, Chiara Marazzi, Roger Olofsson Bagge, Massimiliano Petrini, Francesca Bonifazi, Vincent Bourbonne, Frédéric Courbon, Ibrahim Edhemović, Lisa Licitra, Sergio Roman-Roman, Jean-Yves Blay

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