UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF: Elekta Unity lands in Rome
12 May 2026
The Center enhances adaptive radiotherapy with one of the most advanced technologies in the world
The investment of more than €15 million, supported by UPMC, has enabled the expansion of the facility with two new bunkers designed to accommodate next-generation linear accelerators, including Elekta Unity, currently available in only 50 other locations worldwide.
Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART) allows recalculating and adapting the treatment plan at the beginning of each session, ensuring millimeter-level precision and greatly reducing side effects.
Strengthening the response capacity to oncological diseases, making technological innovation a cornerstone of care, and accelerating access to the most advanced treatments. These are the goals of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF, which today announced the completion of a strategic development and enhancement plan.
Against a national backdrop of steadily increasing cancer diagnoses – with an estimated 390,000 new cases in 2025 – the investment of more than €15 million represents a concrete response for the local community. The Center has significantly enhanced its treatment capacity, adding two new bunkers for the most advanced technologies, enabling it to treat a larger number of patients while significantly reducing waiting times and the overall duration of treatment. The Center operates under accreditation with the Italian NHS, ensuring access to advanced oncology care.
Adaptive Radiation Therapy: A Major Innovation
The first new bunker houses the Elekta Unity accelerator, a technology currently installed in only 50 other locations worldwide. Equipped with a high-field diagnostic MRI scanner (1.5T), it is widely recognized as one of the leading platforms for delivering Adaptive Radiation Therapy treatments.
Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART) represents a true innovation compared to traditional protocols. In conventional radiation therapy, the treatment plan is established at the beginning of the cycle based on static CT images. Adaptive technology allows clinicians to recalculate and readjust the treatment plan at the start of each individual session. Supported by AI, this approach eliminates the uncertainties associated with the physiological organ motion or tumor morphological variations, ensuring millimeter-level precision that protects the surrounding healthy tissues and drastically reduces side effects.
A Long-Standing Partnership
The enhancement of the Center in Rome is part of a successful partnership established in 2011 between San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital and UPMC. The facility continuously benefits from the transfer of know-how from the international network of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center that includes over 40 global locations and assists over 185,000 patients annually.
The Center’s excellence is further validated by its Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation, obtained in 2017 and renewed in 2020 and 2023, confirming the highest standards of safety and clinical quality.
Angelo Luca, Managing Director, UPMC Italy: “With this investment, we bring to Rome not only cutting-edge technology that strengthens our leadership in high-tech radiation therapy, but also a clear vision of healthcare, innovative, accessible, and close to the people. UPMC’s strength lies in transforming the experience, expertise, and vision of an international network comprising over 93,000 professionals into concrete solutions for patients, families, and communities, ensuring access to cutting-edge care pathways on a global scale. In this way, we turn innovation into real value, enhancing healthcare services and patients’ quality of life throughout their care journey.”
Piercarlo Gentile, Medical Director, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF: “Our body is subject to continuous changes in the shape and position of its organs, including the tumor target itself. These systems allow to track such changes and refine the treatment by adapting it in real time to the new situation. Daily monitoring, both before and during treatment, allows for greater precision, reduced tolerance volumes around the target, and improved clinical outcomes both in terms of effectiveness and reduction of potential side effects. Thanks to the availability of a revolutionary PET-CT scanner, our ambition is to personalize treatment during its course according to the response and/or aggressiveness of the oncological target.”