Course Director

Michael Joiner, Radiation Biologist, Wayne State University, Detroit (US)

Teachers

• Rob Coppes, Radiation Biologist, UMC Groningen, Groningen (NL)
• Vincent Grégoire, Radiation Oncologist, Léon Bérard Cancer Center, Lyon (FR)
• Karin Haustermans, Radiation Oncologist, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven (BE)
• Marianne Koritzinsky, Radiation Biologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto (CA)
• Laure Marignol, Radiation Biologist, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin (IE)

Local Organiser

• Eduard Gershkevitsh, Medical Physicist, North Estonia Medical Center, Tallinn (EE)

The course aims to:

• Provide an introduction to radiation biology as applied to radiotherapy
• Cover the basic mechanisms of cell death/survival and the radiation response of tumours and normal tissues
• Explain the formulae of tissue tolerance
• Describe the biological basis for current approaches to the improvement of radiotherapy including novel fractionation schemes, retreatment, IMRT, modification of hypoxia, hadron therapy, combined radiotherapy/chemotherapy and biological modifiers of tumour and normal tissue effects.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants should be able to:

• Understand the biology of how ionizing radiation is able to effectively treat cancer
• Distinguish radiotherapy and its advantages from other cancer therapies
• Have the essential knowledge of radiobiology necessary for qualifying examinations.

Course Content

• A series of basic lectures introducing molecular and clinical radiobiology
• Mechanisms and models or radiation cell killing
• The linear-quadratic approach to fractionation
• Molecular basis of radiation response
• Radiobiology and tolerance of normal tissues to (re)treatment
• Alternative fractionation schedules in radiotherapy
• Tumour hypoxia and the microenvironment
• Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy
• The volume and dose-rate effect in radiotherapy
• Biological response modifiers (tumours, normal tissues) and molecular approaches to therapy
• Protons and other particles in radiotherapy
• Radiation-induced malignancies.

Prerequisites

Before commencing this course participants should:

• Ensure their knowledge of basic biology and physics is at least high-school level
• Familiarise themselves with access to the journals covering radiobiology related to radiotherapy.

Teaching Methods

• 27 hours of lectures
• 3 hours of tutorials
• 4 hours of discussions.

Methods of Assessment

• MCQ
• Evaluation form.

Programme

To follow

Key Words

Radiobiology, radiation biology, radiation oncology, radiotherapy.

Venue

Nordic Hotel Forum
Viru Valjak 3
10111 Tallinn
Estonia

http://www.nordichotels.eu/en/

Membership

ESTRO members can order products at substantially reduced prices. Please note that in order to benefit from the member price, you must renew your membership for 2021 before registering to the course.To benefit from these member rates, please visit the membership page to become a member or renew your membership BEFORE proceeding with your order.

Fees

* Members with specialty RadiationTherapist (RTT) may register at the In Training fee

Early rates are applied up to three months before the starting date of the course.

Late rates are applied three months before the starting date of the course.

The fee includes the course material, coffees, lunches, and the social event.

Advance registration & payment are required.

Since the number of participants is limited, late registrants are advised to contact the ESTRO office before payment, to inquire about availability of places. Access to homework and/or course material will become available upon receipt of full payment.

Insurance and cancellation

The organiser does not accept liability for individual medical, travel or personal insurance. Participants are strongly advised to take out their own personal insurance policies.   

In case an unforeseen event would force ESTRO to cancel the meeting, the Society will reimburse the participants fully the registration fees. ESTRO will not be responsible for the refund of travel and accommodation costs.

In case of cancellation, full refund of the registration fee minus 15% for administrative costs may be obtained up to three months before the course and 50% of the fee up to one month before the course. No refund will be made if the cancellation request is postmarked less than one month before the start of the course.

Reduced fees

ESTRO members from economically challenged countries may register at a preferential rate of 350 Euro if three conditions are met:

1. Only ESTRO members for 2021 are eligible (please make sure your 2021 membership is in order before you apply for the reduced fees)
2. Only one course per person per year can be subsidized by ESTRO
3. Sponsored candidates are not entitled to reduced fees (the invoicing address has to be the one of the participant)  

Please note: