The course provides an understanding of both the radiobiological basis of radiation treatment for cancer and the use of radiobiological models in the evaluation and optimisation of radiotherapy treatment plans.
It is aimed at all professionals involved in Radiotherapy: Clinical/Radiation Oncologists, Physicists, Therapy Radiographers, Dosimetrists/Treatment Planners, Researchers and University Teachers. Days 1 and 2 will cover fundamentals – clonogenic assays; cellular response to radiation; cell-cycle effects; the linear-quadratic (LQ) model; the effects of: oxygen/hypoxia, doserate,
radiation quality (LET) incl. protons/light ions; the principles of fractionation; specific considerations in LDR and HDR brachytherapy; clonogen proliferation and treatment-gap compensation. Radiation Oncologists specialising in breast, head & neck, lung and prostate tumours will discuss the application of the latest radiobiological ideas to these specific cancers.
Days 3 and 4 are dedicated to the fundamentals of (radio)biological models
(TCP, NTCP, EUD) and their application to the evaluation and optimisation of radiotherapy treatment plans. The course includes extensive hands-on practice in a “computer lab” with modelling software (LQ-survivor; BIOPLAN; BioSuite and ORBIT) similar to that which is now starting to appear in commercial treatment planning systems.
The faculty comprises Radiobiologists, Physicists and Radiation Oncologists, who are internationally known for their research, as well as being experienced teachers of the various aspects of Radiobiology and their application to Radiotherapy.
Students are encouraged to bring posters describing Radiobiological Modelling work from their own research groups; these will be displayed throughout the course.
