FONDAZIONE CENTRO NAZIONALE DI ADROTERAPIA ONCOLOGICA

Their core work

CNAO is Italy's national centre for hadron therapy — treating cancer patients using proton and heavy ion beams instead of conventional radiation. Based in Pavia, it operates one of the few clinical facilities in Europe capable of delivering carbon ion therapy. Beyond treating patients, CNAO conducts research on accelerator technology, beam delivery systems, radiobiology, and treatment planning, bridging the gap between particle physics engineering and clinical oncology.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 participation (2015–2020), CNAO focused on foundational accelerator science — beam diagnostics, Monte Carlo simulations, imaging techniques, and radioisotope production through training networks like MEDICIS-PROMED and OMA. From 2021 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward clinical application and infrastructure leadership: coordinating HITRIplus to integrate European heavy ion therapy research, joining a cardiac radioablation trial (STOPSTORM), and participating in a proton vs photon clinical comparison for esophageal cancer (PROTECT-trial). The trajectory is clear — from building and optimizing the machines to proving their clinical value in patients.

CNAO is moving from technology development toward clinical validation and European infrastructure coordination, making them an increasingly important partner for anyone working on next-generation radiation therapy trials.

How they like to work

CNAO mostly participates as a specialist partner (4 of 5 projects), but took the coordinator role for HITRIplus — their largest project by far (EUR 857K) and a research infrastructure integration initiative. With 85 unique partners across 18 countries, they operate in large, multi-national consortia typical of medical physics and infrastructure projects. This is an organization comfortable contributing deep technical expertise to big collaborations, and now stepping into leadership when the topic aligns precisely with their mission.

CNAO has collaborated with 85 distinct partners across 18 countries, reflecting the inherently international nature of hadron therapy research where only a handful of facilities exist worldwide. Their network spans clinical centres, accelerator labs, and universities across Europe.

What sets them apart

CNAO is one of only a handful of operational heavy ion therapy centres in Europe, giving it a physical infrastructure that most research partners simply cannot replicate. This makes them not just a research collaborator but a facility provider — consortium partners gain access to clinical beamlines, patient data, and real-world treatment environments. Their combination of accelerator engineering capability with active clinical operations is rare and highly sought after for translational radiation therapy research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HITRIplus
  CNAO's only coordinator role and largest project (EUR 857K) — a research infrastructure initiative integrating European heavy ion therapy centres, signalling their ambition to lead in this domain.
• STOPSTORM
  Unusual application of radiation therapy expertise to cardiac arrhythmia treatment, showing CNAO's willingness to explore non-oncology uses of their beam technology.
• OMA
  Comprehensive medical accelerator optimization project (EUR 536K) that covered the full chain from beam physics to treatment planning — CNAO's deepest technical contribution.