Course Director

Albert van der Kogel, Radiation Biologist, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center (NL)

Teachers

Wolfgang Dörr, Radiation Biologist, UK Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden (DE)
Vincent Grégoire, Radiation Oncologist, UCL Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Brussels (BE)
Michael Joiner, Radiation Biologist, Karmanos Cancer Institute Wayne State University, Detroit (USA)
Marianne Koritzinsky, Radiation Biologist, University Health Network, Toronto (CA)
Marianne Nordsmark, Clinical Oncologist, Aarhus University Hospital (DK)

Course aim

The aim is to provide an introduction to radiation biology as applied to radiotherapy. It will cover the basic mechanisms of cell death/survival and the radiation response of tumours and normal tissues. Formulas of tissue tolerance will be explained. The biological basis for current approaches to the improvement of radiotherapy will be described including novel fractionation schemes, retreatment, IMRT, modification of hypoxia, hadron therapy, biological modifiers and combined radiotherapy/chemotherapy.

Target Group

The course is aimed at trainees in radiotherapy, radiation oncologists who recognize a lack of basic science or want to update their knowledge (i.e. for CME) and physicists who wish to familiarize themselves with this field.  

Educational programme 

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