Fabio Ynoe de Moraes, Radiation Oncologist and Associate Professor at Queen’s University, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Reframing Innovation in Radiation Oncology: From Technology to Value
The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) / Miet Vandemaele / Yolande Lievens ) has taken a bold step toward defining what truly adds value in radiotherapy.
In a landmark paper published in Radiotherapy and Oncology (The Green Journal), Vandemaele et al. introduce the ESTRO Value-Based Radiation Oncology (VBRO) categorisation system — a framework to evaluate innovations not only by their technological sophistication, but by their impact on outcomes, evidence generation, and real-world value.
For the first time, radiotherapy interventions are systematically classified into four categories:
- Drug-centred – integrating systemic and radiation therapy to enhance biological effectiveness
- Radiation-centred – optimising the therapeutic ratio through physical or biological improvements (e.g., proton therapy, FLASH RT, MRI-Linac)
- Radiation-enabling – improving precision or patient experience (e.g., rectal spacers, breath-hold, surface guidance)
- Operational – transforming workflows and efficiency (e.g., AI-based contouring, adaptive planning)
This system is more than a classification — it’s the foundation of a value-based appraisal framework that will guide clinical implementation, policy, and reimbursement, ensuring equitable access to high-value innovations across settings.
Radiation oncology is entering a new era — one where innovation will be measured not by speed, but by value delivered to patients and society.
Call to action:
If you work in clinical innovation, policy, or global oncology — read, share, and join the conversation on how we can build a fair, evidence-driven ecosystem for radiotherapy worldwide.”
Title: Building an appraisal framework for radiotherapy innovations in a value-based context: The ESTRO-Value-based radiation oncology
categorisation system
Authors: M. Vandemaele, P. Blanchard, J.M. Borràs, M. Leech, M. Aznar, A. Aggarwal, Y. Lievens
Read the Full Article.
More posts featuring Fabio Ynoe de Moraes.