Institut Paoli Calmettes (IPC)

The Institut Paoli Calmettes (IPC) Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in Marseille, with an in-patient capacity of two hundred eighty beds and a large ambulatory department. Located in the South of France, it is a teaching referral hospital with the adoption of highly advanced technology. This hospital has seen uninterrupted growth in academic medical research and education in medicine.

Brachy expertise

IPC Hospital introduced brachytherapy before 1985 and MRI-guided HDR brachytherapy in cervical cancers in 2012. Radiation oncologists and physicists from IPC Hospital attended workshops on Locally Advanced Cervical Cancers organized by the ESTRO School. The hospital was quick to adopt this technology and has been offering Image-Guided Adaptive Brachytherapy (IGABT) with dose escalation since 2017. Furthermore, the combined intracavitary and interstitial technique is performed in large tumors with extensive parametrial involvement remaining at the time of brachytherapy or in cases with unfavorable topography. IPC Hospital has an extensive brachytherapy service with a special focus on gynecological cancers. The center has impressive brachytherapy facilities and a dedicated brachy team of 2 radiation oncologists and 2 physicists. Around 100 patients are treated every year. The hospital is equipped for HDR brachytherapy afterloader and is recognized as an expert center in the region.

Educational activities

From 2023, the hospital is the international BrachyAcademy educational center, with a special focus on gynecological malignancies. Observational visits to the hospital are organized for people wishing to learn more about IGABT in cervical cancer using CT and MRI image guidance, where they can observe clinical workflows and daily practices firsthand.