Radiation Oncology in Italy: The Past, the Present, the Future

Abstract

Radiation therapy in Italy has a long tradition, with Italians being early adopters of this new technology. In 1901, an Italian publication reported the work of Arnone, who treated a case of leukemic splenomegaly with x-rays (1). In 1904, Nieddu published a review of the technique and dosimetric evaluation of 10 patients treated with x-rays, describing beneficial effects on skin epitheliomas and malignant adenopathies. In 1913, the journal La Radiologia Medica was launched, and in the following decades, along with reports of the diagnostic field of radiology, it also published articles on radiation therapy. In those early years and, indeed, right up until the 1980s, the activities of radiation biology and radiation therapy were performed by radiologists who were also practicing diagnostic radiology. This extreme flexibility served as an incentive for creativity but, at the same time, carried the risk of a rather shallow understanding of the unique judgments required in the practice of radiation therapy. In 1926, the Italian Ultraviolet Association was founded, expressing its scientific activity in their journal Rivista Italiana di Actinologia. The purpose of this association was to develop and coordinate studies on ultraviolet radiation and to effectively incorporate international scientific progress in every field of research and application of radiation. At that time, external beam radiation therapy was performed with cathode ray tubes able to produce beam