Dr. De Santis Maria Carmen

Doctor

Contacts

Mail: mariacarmen.desantis@istitutotumori.mi.it
Tel: 0223903280

Specialty / Department

Radiation oncology

Maria Carmen De Santis is a senior clinical and radiation oncologist with more than 10 years of experience at Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan Italy, in a multidisciplinary team. She is one of the best Italian Breast Radiation Oncologist.

Her main fields of interest are breast cancer, oligometastatic disease and stereotactic radiotherapy, predictive models of toxicity, in particular cardiotoxicity, hypofractionation, partial breast irradiation and reirradiation. She has actively participated in clinical breast cancer phase II/III trials as PI/co-PI and has conceived ongoing clinical studies.

Dr.ssa De Santis has contributed to European and national research projects, including work on toxicity analyses in breast cancer patients. Notably, she analysed imaging, genetic, and dosimetry data from 2,000 patients treated with radiotherapy within the European REQUITE project. She is an active member of national (AIRO) and international societies (ESTRO) for radiation oncology.

She is among the funders and currently is an active member of the collaborative “Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Group” (COBCG) aimed at sharing clinical data on breast cancer patients among 7 Institution. Dr.ssa De Santis's work exemplifies the integration of advanced technologies into clinical practice, enhancing precision and innovation in radiotherapy. She has played a pivotal role in implementing deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) in the radiotherapy department. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed international papers [81 publications, h-index =14].

ORCID Publications

DECIDE STUDY “Development and Validation of Multiparametric Radiomics Models: Characterization of the Breast Parenchyma and Prediction of the Tumor Molecular Profile” Alleanza contro il Cancro.

• EUROPA TRIAL: Single-modality endocrine therapy versus radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in women aged 70 years and older with luminal A-like early breast cancer.

• PRISCILLA TRIAL: Partial Radiotherapy for breast in situ carcinoma of intermediate low risk al local adjuvant treatment.

•TAORMINA TRIAL: Treatment of oligometastatic breast cancer-a randomized phase 3 trial comparing stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and systemic treatment with systemic treatment alone as 1st line treatment.

FASTPG01: Radioterapia adiuvante ipofrazionata secondo schema ultra-ipofrazionato dopo chirurgia conservativa in pazienti affette da neoplasia della mammella.

• RECARE

• “RAPID SOLUTION”. Optimizing Radiotherapy Planning: An AI-Driven Solution for Breath Hold Selection in Breast Cancer. Founded by Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori-Valorizzazione delle Ricerca Fondi 5per1000, 2025-2026.

• “TETRIS” Risk assessment Tools for severe side Effects after breasT Radiotherapy: radiation safety through

biological extended models and dIgital twinS. HORIZON-EURATOM, 2024-2027.

• “Validating Predictive Models and Biomarkers of Radiotherapy Toxicity to Reduce Side-Effects and Improve Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors. REQUITE”. Funded by European Union’s 7th Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration, 2013-2018.

• “RAD-PRECISE”: Personalized radiotherapy: incorporating cellular response to irradiation in personalized

treatment planning to minimize radiation toxicity”. Funded by “Joint transnational call for proposals

(2018) for research projects on personalized medicine – smart combination of pre-clinical and clinical

research with data and ICT solutions”, ERAPerMed, 2019-2022

“Mechanistic computational modelling of radiation damage to microvasculature and of its effect on tumor microenvironment”. Funded by AIRC, 2019-2024.

• Rosanna project: cardiotoxicity in young breast cancer patients. Funded by AIRC, 2021-2026.

• “PNNR-POC-2023-12378113” A Composite Assay for HER2-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer Management. Funded by PNNR 2024-2027.