Radiooncology & Radiotherapy Bern: Head physician Prof. Dr. med. Daniel M. Aebersold

Card

Prof. Dr. med. Daniel M. Aebersold is a specialist and head physician for radio-oncology at the Inselspital in Bern. Prof. Aebersold's internationally well-respected team consists of experienced and expert radiotherapists, medical physicists, specialists in medical-technical radiology, and nursing staff. They guarantee you professional and personal medical care as well as attentive care.

Radio-Oncology Bern - Medical Excellence in Radiotherapy

The Department of Radiation Oncology at the Inselspital in Bern is committed to the highest quality standards. It is one of the leading providers of modern radiation therapy in Switzerland. The Department of Radiation Oncology at the renowned Universitätklinikum Bern offers optimal oncological treatment and care to patients with tumor diseases.

State-of-the-Art Therapy Procedures of Radio-Oncology & Permanent Quality Controls

To carry out your radiotherapy to your complete satisfaction and safety, the radio-oncology department of the Inselspital uses the most modern therapeutic procedures, which are subject to constant quality control. This is particularly important in radio-oncology, as the radiation used can damage not only malignant tumors but also healthy tissue.

Prof. Aebersold and his team offer the complete spectrum of radio-oncology in their clinic at a top university level. The top offers include high-precision radiation (stereotactic radiosurgery SRS and extracranial body stereotaxis) as well as all forms of brachytherapy, including intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT). The maxim of Radio-Oncology Bern: Use radiation precisely where it is needed and spare healthy tissue.

Experienced Expert Teams for Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Body Stereotaxis

The infrastructure in the field of high precision radiotherapy is exceptional. Dedicated equipment for stereotactic irradiation is available: The latest generation CyberKnife and two TrueBeam linear accelerators. Experienced teams of experts ensure the optimal use of these technologies for a wide range of tumorous diseases in the brain, lungs, liver, prostate, and other organs.

Center for High Precision Radiation (Stereotaxis)

High-precision radiation therapy is a state-of-the-art radiation technology that combines maximum efficiency with optimal tissue protection. It, therefore, offers the best possible radiation oncology care for cancer patients.

Latest Generation CyberKnife

Targeted irradiation is a precision job for treating the tumor best possible without damaging healthy tissue. The CyberKnife M6 offers the best prerequisites for this because it allows highly complex and millimeter-precise irradiation of tumors.

The advanced robot-assisted linear accelerator with integrated image guidance is unique in non-invasive radiosurgery. The ultramodern high-tech device allows for targeting a tumor from around a thousand different positions. By combining real-time imaging with additional breath triggering, the device continuously adapts to the tumor's displacement due to breathing. In this way, even cancer tumors in susceptible areas of the body can be radiated with maximum safety for the patient. The radiation destroys degenerate cancer cells. Sick cells dissolve and are cleared by the body's immune cells.

The great advantage of the high-energy CyberKnife: due to the selective, precisely targeted irradiation of the tumor, fewer sessions are required to eliminate or confine the tumor.

Brachytherapy with Commitment and Expertise

Brachytherapy, in which a tiny radiation source is placed directly into the tumor, thus sparing the healthy tissue as much as possible, is a therapy option offered with significant commitment and expertise. This procedure is used in particular for so-called partial breast irradiation, in which the University Clinic for Radio-Oncology at the Inselspital is one of the leading clinics.

Al-Based Adaptive Radiation Therapy

The University Hospital for radiation oncology embraces AI-assisted adaptive radiotherapy with Ethos, taking another step toward patient-centered, personalized medicine. Ethos features a Varian Adaptive Intelligence™ solution that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with adaptive therapy.

The Ethos linear accelerator integrates CT that takes images of the size and position of the tumor and surrounding organs while the patient is on the radiation table. The software calculates a daily radiation plan based on timely images using artificial intelligence. Physicians and specialists in medical physics can thus react to momentary changes during treatment. As a result, patients benefit from even more precise irradiation.

Hyperthermia in Cancer: Combination Therapy with Radiotherapy

Hyperthermia (Greek for overheating) involves heating cancer cells to a temperature of 39–43 °C. Cancer cells are more sensitive to heat than healthy cells. The hyperthermia procedure precisely uses this property to support the cancer cells to die during irradiation - without damaging healthy tissue. Hyperthermia is applied as surface or deep hyperthermia, each with two different devices according to the tumor location. It is carried out immediately before or after a radiation session.

IMRT and IGRT - Radiotherapy for Maximum Protection of Healthy Tissue

The clinic also offers intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Intensity-modulated radiotherapy is a further development and improvement of the standard procedure of 3D conformal radiotherapy. With its help, both the direction of radiation and the radiation dose can be varied. Thus, the desired, high radiation dose reaches the target location, while the healthy environment is spared to the maximum. In this way, intensity-modulated radiotherapy offers excellent chances of cure for many tumors (e.g., in the pelvic area: prostate cancer, rectal cancer, and cervical cancer).

Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) compensates another disadvantage of conventional radiotherapy procedures by additionally combining the irradiation device with a modern imaging procedure, the patient's position and movement and target organ can be continuously monitored, and the irradiation field can be adjusted accordingly. This is particularly important because even in a resting position, the organ to be irradiated can dislocate several mm to cm due to respiratory movement and blood flow. In the case of a rigid, inflexible irradiation field, this would lead to increased irradiation of healthy tissue, while the tumor tissue is irradiated too little. In this way, IGRT increases your chances of recovery.

Orthovolt Irradiation for Skin Tumors and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Aebersold and his team also offer another type of treatment named Orthovolt radiation. In this method, conventional X-rays are used with great success for treating skin tumors and inflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system due to their low penetration depth. Some treatable clinical pictures are arthrosis, tendonitis, pain associated with heel spurs, and even tennis elbow.

Beta-Irradiation of the Pterygium

As we have already seen, radiotherapy is also suitable for treating benign diseases. One of these diseases is pterygium. The pterygium is a benign conjunctival growth in the eye, which can grow from the inner corner of the eye to the cornea. If this is the case, a pterygium can be accompanied by significant visual impairment.

There are various therapeutic options for the treatment of benign conjunctival changes. Besides surgical removal, treatment of the proliferation with beta rays is an excellent alternative, as recurrences often occur after a short time after the surgery. A therapy with beta-radiation, on the other hand, can eliminate the conjunctival growth effectively and permanently. For this reason, beta-irradiation is also useful for postoperative recurrence. Of course, all aspects of the treatment are coordinated with an appropriate eye specialist before the radiation.

The treatment is carried out with a specially developed applicator, which is similar to a small domed metal bowl. The shell serves as a carrier for the radioactive material and is applied directly to the affected area of the eye during the contact treatment. The radiation exposure is minimal during this radiotherapy, as the radioactive substance only penetrates the eye tissue minimally.

Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Professional and Personal Medical Care

Good networking between different medical disciplines and specialists can save lives. That is why Prof Aebersold considers collaboration with varying areas of radio-oncology particularly important. The University Clinic for Radio-Oncology is the leading cooperation partner in the University Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Inselspital. All cases are, therefore, discussed at the interdisciplinary tumor boards.

As in other medical fields, a single treatment approach cannot be applied to every patient in therapeutic radio-oncology. Quite the contrary – especially with cancer patients, individual irradiation of the tumor is the be-all and end-all for successful therapy. That is why each case is discussed with specialists from various disciplines in a regular tumor conference (also known as a tumor board), which allows close examination of all aspects of the disease to determine the optimal therapy. The comprehensive network of other institutes in Switzerland is also helpful, enabling a valuable exchange of experience for the benefit of patients. The result is precision medicine tailored to each patient's unique needs and offers the best possible treatment option.

It is essential to Prof Aebersold that patients feel well cared for at the Bern Radio-Oncology Center. The expert knows personal human interaction plays a significant role, especially in a technology-driven environment. Prof Aebersold takes this into account in an exceptional way.

Guiding Principle of Radio-Oncology Bern: The Human Being Is the Focus

All employees of Radio-Oncology Bern deal with people suffering from cancer every day. Therefore, an appreciative and personal contact with each patient is a matter, of course. Due to their experience, doctors, nurses, and medical-technical staff bring a great deal of understanding and empathy to the patient.

A cancer disease always has a psychological and human component. Everyone deals differently with the diagnosis of cancer and personal fate. Prof. Aebersold knows from many years of experience that it is often useful for tumor patients to talk to an outsider about cancer and the fears and concerns associated with it. The specialist takes this into account with a department specially designed for these needs - psycho-oncology. The psycho-oncological care team is not only there to listen to the personal suffering of patients but also to the concerns and needs of their relatives.

To make further progress in the treatment of malignant tumor diseases, Prof. Aebersold and his team invest a lot of heart and soul in intensive scientific work in the fields of tumor therapy, medical physics, radiobiology, and radiation protection, in addition to their clinical activities. On request, Prof. Aebersold also offers private medical consultation hours.

Please, click here for Prof. Aebersold’s website.