GEC-ESTRO was formed in 1990 from the amalgamation of the The Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie (GEC) and the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO). Prior to this, GEC had been an independent group of experts, formed in the mid 1960s, who were interested in all aspects of brachytherapy and responsible for organising annual meetings.

This merge has enabled brachytherapy to strengthen its impact in Europe and improve the administrative aspects of education, collaboration and research in brachytherapy.

The GEC-ESTRO Committee supervises and coordinates all activities of GEC-ESTRO on a regular basis, in particular is responsible for:

  • Research and Development
  • Brachytherapy publications
  • Representation on ESTRO bodies
  • Liaison with brachytherapy societies outside ESTRO
  • Proposal of members of the Editorial Board and the Editor for Brachytherapy for Radiotherapy and Oncology
  • Election of Chairs
  • Selection of awardees for the Iridium 192 award and the Marie Curie medal

The backbone of the GEC-ESTRO committee are the activities of the working groups. Working Groups focus on relevant topics, which address research and development, education, and healthcare in the context of brachytherapy. Working Groups are defined by the GEC-ESTRO Committee.

GEC-ESTRO also collaborates with other groups and supports three awards in brachytherapy.

The Standard operation procedure (SOP) of the committee is available here.

The GEC-ESTRO handbook can be found on the e-library.

Chair: Ina Jürgenliemk-Schulz, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Past Chair: Bradley Pieters, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Chair-Elect & Chair Breast:: Vratislav Strnad; Erlangen, Germany

Secretary: Marisol De Brabandere, Leuven, Belgium

Chair GI-GEC: Alexandra Stewart, Guildford, United Kingdom

Chair BRAPHYQS: Frank-André Siebert, Kiel, Germany

Chair Brachy-HERO: Li Tee Tan, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Chair Gynaecology: Kari Tanderup, Aarhus, Denmark

Chair UroGEC: Peter Hoskin, Northwood and Manchester, The United Kingdom 

Chair Head & Neck and Skin: Luca Tagliaferri, Rome, Italy

Csaba Polgár, Budapest, Hungary

Young Committee Observer: Cyrus Chargari, Villejuif, France

The commitee is contactable through Evelyn Chibeka Chimfwembe at the ESTRO Office

 

There are six brachytherapy working groups. Please click on the links below for further information about the activities of the group.

GEC-ESTRO Breast - Chair: Vratislav Strnad

GEC-ESTRO Head and Neck and Skin - Chair: Luca Tagliaferri

GEC-ESTRO Urology - Chair: Peter Hoskin

GEC-ESTRO Gynaecology - Chair: Kari Tanderup

GEC-ESTRO BRAPHYQS - Chair: Frank-André Sieber

GEC-ESTRO Gastro-Intestinal - Chair: Arthur Sun Myint

GEC-ESTRO Brachy- HERO (Health Economics) - Chair: Li Tee Tan

Under the auspices of GEC ESTRO, the GEC-ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy is published aiming at clinicians, physicists and radiotherapy technologists worldwide. The textbook covers the basics of brachytherapy, including the physics and radiobiology, and describes in detail all aspects of clinical practice.

First published in 2002, the handbook is currently under review. A second edition is available for a number of chapters, while for several other chapters an update is planned in the near future.