CAU and UKSH are taking the lead in a Europe-wide study on cardiac arrhythmias
The Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU) and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Campus Kiel, have taken over the management of the STOPSTORM consortium. This Europe-wide initiative is funded by the EU as part of the Horizon 2020 program and investigates the innovative use of stereotactic radiotherapy to treat cardiac arrhythmias. PD Dr. Oliver Blanck from the Department of Radiation Oncology in Kiel will coordinate this project.
Since the end of 2022, the consortium has been investigating stereotactic radiotherapy as a new treatment option for patients with refractory cardiac arrhythmias, called Stereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR), as part of a Europe-wide registry study. Over 30 partner organizations in more than ten European countries provide treatment data for this purpose. So far, 170 of the planned 300 patients with cardiac arrhythmias in the heart chambers, so-called ventricular tachycardias, have been included in the registry. These data will be used to review indication, safety, and effectiveness of STAR treatments. The German STOPSTORM centers are located in Kiel, Lübeck, Berlin, Hanover, Mannheim, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Munich.
PD Dr. Oliver Blanck from the Department of Radiation Oncology in Kiel and the Medical Faculty of the CAU has taken over the management of this Europe-wide research project. The project was previously led by the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, but due to a new professional challenge of the previous coordinator, Prof. Dr. Joost Verhoeff, a new appointment was necessary. PD Dr. Blanck was selected for this role in recognition of his achievements as national coordinator of the STOPSTORM consortium in Germany and leader of the quality assurance work package.
“I am thankful for the trust of the consortium and hope to be able to provide new impulses for closer cooperation between two previously separate medical disciplines – radiation therapy and cardiology – for the joint treatment of refractory cardiac arrhythmias,” explains Dr. Blanck. “Prof. Dr. Verhoeff and his team in Utrecht have done an excellent job bringing this project to life. Now, we must make every effort to collect and evaluate the data,” continued Blanck. Prof. Dr. Verhoeff (Head of the Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Amsterdam) takes over as deputy leader in the STOPSTORM consortium alongside Assoc. Prof. Dr. Martin Fast (Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical Center Utrecht) and Prof. Dr. Etienne Pruvot (Head of Electrophysiology, Department of Cardiology, Lausanne University Hospital). In Kiel, the STOPSTORM project is actively supported by the CAU's EU Office under the direction of Linda Piálek.