Course Director
Adrian Begg, Biologist, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (NL)
Teachers
Jan Alsner, Biologist, Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
Kevin Harrington, Biologist, The Institute of Cancer Research, London (GB)
Martin Pruschy, Biologist, University Hospital Zürich (CH)
Marie-Catherine Vozenin, Biologist, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif (FR)
Daniel Zips, Radiation Oncologist, UK Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden (DE)
Local Organiser
Jan Alsner, Biologist, Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
Course aim
The purpose of this course is to provide an appreciation for the molecular basis of cancer and its treatment in radiation oncology. A combination of lectures and tutorial sessions with question/answer sessions and literature discussions are used throughout the course. Following completion, participants should have sufficient knowledge to read and appreciate the literature, follow new developments in molecular radiation oncology, and begin to participate in their local research groups in this field.
Target Group
The main target group consists of radiation oncologists in training (compulsory in several centers),
radiation oncologists in practice, 1st year PhD students, and any other individuals interested in obtaining a basic understanding of molecular radiation oncology (physicists, statisticians, technologists). Lectures and tutorials are constructed in such a way that little or no molecular background knowledge in this area is necessary. A background in classical radiobiology is a plus such as attendance in the ESTRO course on basic clinical radiobiology.
Educational programme
Main topics of the course:
- Molecular basis of cancer
- Molecular basis of radiation response
- Molecular basis for new targeted therapies
- Molecular basis for patient treatment individualization
Questions addressed in the course include:
What are the most commonly altered pathways in cancer and how do they affect radiation response?
- What is the response at the molecular level to radiation and how does this influence tumour and normal tissue behaviour?
- How can our understanding of cancer and radiation response be used to develop new kinds of treatment?
- Which pathways are already being targeted in combination with radiotherapy?
How will new genomic, proteomic and molecular imaging technologies be used to individualise patient treatment in the future?