National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has exceptional experience in organizing professional interaction via teleconferencing, which allows training and exchange of experience with regional cancer centers.

Twice a week, more than 40 regional cancer centers take part in online conferences to analyze interesting clinical cases, and receive expert opinion from the Federal Center on various issues of diagnosis and treatment tactics.

In 2023, more than 16,500 patients from 64 regions were consulted through the Federal Telemedicine Information System of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Teleconferencing allows specialists to quickly determine the diagnosis in special and unique clinical cases as well as verify the diagnosis, which directly affects the quality of medical care around the Russian Federation.

The Center has high scientific potential. Researchers here are engaged in fundamental developments and their application in practice, creation of new antitumor drugs in order to fight cancer. The Center actively interacts with the Russian Academy of Sciences and other research institutes, corporations, and research and production associations in the Russian Federation. One of the significant results of cooperation was the creation of the Russian proton complex “Prometheus” and Russian radiopharmaceuticals.

By order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 25, 2017, a group of scientists from the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, led by Director General, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Kaprin were awarded the 2017 Russian Federation Government Prize in the field of science and technology “For the development, production and implementation of domestic radio sources (Iodine-125) for contact radiation therapy (brachytherapy) in oncology.”

Russian Nuclear Medicine also continues its rapid development in 2023. For the first time in the history of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, a new actinium-based therapeutic radiopharmaceutical “225Ac-PSMA” was used to treat castration-resistant prostate cancer. Then the drug, made at our Centre, was administered at once to the first three patients suffering from RPZ, which was a great hope for prolonging their life and improving its quality. And procedures based on Lutetium 177 (Lu-177 PSMA) have already become firmly part of our practice.

All this has become possible thanks to the opening of a Nuclear Pharmacy in the NMRRC of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. In recent years, the Russian Government and the Ministry of Health have done a lot to accelerate the introduction of Russian radiopharmaceuticals into clinical practice. Today, the pharmacy is already conducting research on seven promising RFLPs, which are at different stages – from technology development, drug synthesis to clinical trials of the resulting drug.

National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, having more than 120 years of experience, implements educational activities in the system of higher education (postgraduate studies, residency), as well as additional professional education (advanced training, professional retraining). Every year, more than 100 residents and graduate students are trained here. The Centre offers the following residency programs: oncology, radiology, radiotherapy, rontgenology, urology, pathological anatomy, anesthesiology and resuscitation, ultrasound diagnostics; postgraduate courses: clinical medicine, radiobiology.

In 2023, 108 theses were defended in the Centre’s dissertation councils by postgraduate students, staff members and other applicants.

The Center initiated creation of the Russian Association of Young Oncologists in order to unite scientific and practical specialists to provide them with a platform for professional and personal growth. The Association united more than 10,000 young scientists under the age of 35 from all over Russia.

In 2014 Andrey Kaprin initiated creation of the National Center for Oncology of the Reproductive Organs (mammology, gynecology, andrology) in NMRRC with the aim of significantly reducing mortality from breast cancer in Russia.

The center managed to increase the number of diagnostic examinations of women, increase the efficiency of diagnostic and treatment procedures, which led to a comprehensive solution to the problem of cancer of the reproductive organs.

Over the past period, more than 100,000 women have been examined using modern digital mammography and high-tech ultrasound; 60-80 breast cancer cases are diagnosed monthly; patients undergo high-tech organ-saving surgeries in combination with chemo- and radiation therapy.

The key to the patients’ health and quality of life is timely prescribed rehabilitation after surgical and combined treatment of breast cancer. High efficiency of the techniques allows patients to quickly return to their previous lifestyle and social activity.

OncoBiobank is represented by two departments at A.Tsyb MRRC. Oncobiobank stores and does research on biomaterial from cancer patients with various forms of cancer. Oncobiobank operates in accordance with European standards, being a member of ISBER – the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories. Low-temperature (-80°C) storage facilities of the oncobiobank allow storing up to 90,000 biological samples for research, as well as up to 40,000 samples at the temperature regime of liquid nitrogen vapor. The Centre has collections on colorectal, pancreatic, lung and stomach cancer and lymphomas.

CryoBank provides an opportunity for patients at risk of decreasing or losing fertility as a result of chemotherapy or radiotherapy to have children in the future. Sperm, ovarian tissue, and eggs are collected from patients; these types of biomaterial are stored with the method of cryopreservation. Specialists draw blood from patients and their relatives in order to preserve it for further DNA analysis for oncomutation as well as perform autotransplantation of ovarian tissue.

The initiator of the creation of a national cancer registry in Russia was the outstanding Russian scientist, professor, surgeon Lev Levshin. He was the first to begin experimental research in the field of carcinogenesis. In 1901, he sent out 15 thousand registration cards to register cancer patients, becoming the founder of statistics in oncology. Today, the population cancer registry is an Information and Analytical System (IAS “Cancer-Registry”) for collecting, storing and analyzing information about malignant neoplasms among the population in the Russian Federation.

Every year, the Cancer Registry publishes two bulletins: incidence and mortality rates in the Russian Federation and the state of cancer care for the population in Russia.

The Atlas of Contemporary Oncology (second edition, American Cancer Society, 2014) ranks the cancer registry of the Russian Federation as a high-quality regional registry.

There are 4 163 202 patients registered in cancer centers of the Russian Federation. In 2023, 674 587 new cancer cases and 276 878 deaths from cancer were registered.

The National Radiation and Epidemiological Registry (NRER) has been collecting and analyzing data since 1986. 830 000 Russian citizens exposed to radiation as a result of the Chernobyl accident are registered in a unified federal database.

NRER is a leading institution in Russia for studying the medical consequences of radiation accidents, developing measures for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by exposure to ionizing radiation, assessing radiation risks and predicting long-term medical consequences.

NRER conducts studies of late health effects of ionizing radiation following the Chernobyl accident and other radiological events includ­ing occupational exposure and exposure to radiation from medical diagnostic procedures.

NRER has a collection of key epidemiological data on the health status of the population and liquidators of the Chernobyl accident; these data are included in the White Paper on Chernobyl by the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The blood transfusion service of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation is represented by two departments: in P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute and in A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Centre. The departments are equipped with modern, high-tech equipment that allows them to do a full cycle of work in all main areas of blood transfusion: blood transfusion service, clinical and industrial transfusion medicine, transfusion immunology. The main task of the blood transfusion service is to provide the branches of the Centre with transfusion media (preserved blood, red blood cells, suspension, plasma, platelet concentrates), including planned and emergency surgeries.

The blood transfusion service makes more than 400 donations annually.

More than 600 people are registered in the donor bank of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

All donors donate blood and its components free of charge.

More than 2,000 liters of preserved blood are collected annually.

Cancer patients undergo therapeutic and donor plasmapheresis using a device HAEMONETICS, which helps cleanse the blood of toxins during chemotherapy sessions, which makes it easier to tolerate chemotherapy.