Palliative care: Patient’s and physician’s journey in the era of new treatments and radiation techniques

Friday, 12 May 2023 from 08:30-17:00

Course directors:

• Orit Kaidar-Person, radiation oncologist, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
• Nicolaus Andratschke, radiation oncologist, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• Joanna Kaźmierska, radiation oncologist, Greater Poland Cancer Center, Poland 

Course aim:

• Provide a general overview of palliative care in cancer treatment
• To discuss palliative treatment/care in long term survivors, including re-irradiation
• Outline innovation in palliative treatment including the role of new technologies and medication
• To discuss treatment approach at the terminal phase of disease
• To understand patient-centered approach in palliative care - communication and shared decision making

Learning objectives:

By the end of this course participants should be able:

• To understand the role of holistic approach to palliative care in patient's journey
• To understand opportunities and challenges in palliative radiotherapy and systemic treatment
• To be aware of role of communication and decision-making process in palliative care

Who should attend?

Radiation oncologists (faculty and trainees), medical oncologists, RTTs, nurses

Accreditation

The course has been granted 6 European CME credits (ECMEC®s) by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®).

Scientific programme

Available here

SBRT/SRS: a one-day bootcamp

Friday, 12 May 2023 from 08:30-17:00

Course directors:

• Lisa Wiersema, Radiation Therapist, Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands
• Sandra Vieira, Medical Physicist, Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal
• Arlene Oei, Radiobiologist, Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands
• Max Dahele, Radiation Oncologist, Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Course aim:

To provide a one-day SBRT/SRS bootcamp, filled with practical talks about what people are actually doing and how they do it in clinical practice, from standard SBRT/SRS indications to cutting-edge radiosurgery and the science in-between.

Learning objectives:

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

• Gain practical insights into standard SBRT/SRS indications (e.g. lung, lymph nodes, liver, brain) as well as cutting-edge developments (e.g. single-fraction prostate radiosurgery)
• Gain insight into what teams actually do to deliver these treatments, including the kind of planning CT and additional imaging they use for target delineation, how they approach image registration, treatment planning, QA and treatment delivery
• Obtain insight into how various platforms (e.g. conventional LINACS, robotic and MRI guided systems) are being used
• Gain insight into how radiobiology can help in the clinic (e.g. re-irradiation with overlapping/cumulative doses) and where new developments in radiobiology and physics are going (e.g. FLASH, GRID therapy)
• Compare and contrast their own practice with those of other teams

Who should attend?

• All radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, physicists, and biologists with an interest in stereotactic radiotherapy
• Those already in practice and those in training
• Clinical teams, individuals and scientists looking to benchmark their practice, pick-up new ideas, and bridge the gap from bench-to-clinic

Accreditation

The course has been granted 6 European CME credits (ECMEC®s) by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®).

Scientific programme

Available here

Practical implementation of complex systems and processes into the clinic

Friday, 12 May 2023 from 08:30-17:00

Course directors:

• Tom Depuydt, Medical Physicist, UZ Leuven, Belgium
• David Sjöström, Medical Physicist, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Denmark
• Catharine Clark, Medical Physicist, University College London Hospital and National Physical Laboratory, UK

Course aim:

Taking the next step in advancing radiotherapy in your centre involves implementation of systems and workflows with high levels of complexity. Conventional methodologies for commissioning and QA are often no longer sufficient. This course provides insights into new strategies and approaches to ensure qualitative introduction of novel technologies in your clinic.

Learning objectives:

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

• Undertake effective risk analysis of a new technology
• Know how to develop effective workflows
• Recognise when to engage with external audit/validation
• Understand how errors can propagate through systems
• Create the right multidisciplinary team for a new technology

Who should attend?

Physicists, engineers, computer scientists, RTTs and clinicians involved in implementation of new technologies

Accreditation

This course has been accredited by EBAMP as a CPD event for Medical Physicists at EQF Level 7 and awarded 14 CPD credit points.

Scientific programme

The programme is available here

Making the most of radiation therapy combination strategies

Friday, 12 May 2023 from 08:30-17:00

Course directors:

• Dr. Laure Marignol, Radiation Biologist, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Dr. Ludwig Dubois, Radiation Biologist, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Course aim:

To understand the challenges we face, in designing clinical protocols that can maximise the benefit of radiation therapy combination treatments for cancer patients.

The course will provide insight into recent biological strategies for patient stratification, radiation dose optimisation and radiation-drug interaction statistical analysis. Taking the example of HPV de-escalation strategies, participants will be encouraged to discuss lessons learned and applications to other clinical scenarios with a multi-disciplinary faculty.

Learning objectives:

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

• Raise awareness of the challenges in developing radiation therapy combination protocols
• Understand how to analyse interactions in radiation therapy combinations protocols
• Be able to design studies for evaluation of novel radiation therapy combinations strategie

Who should attend?

• Medical physicists and radiation oncologists interested in learning about how we can develop novel radiation therapy combination protocols
• Radiobiologist interested in the translation of biological interactions into the clinic
• Radiation biologists, physicist and oncologist seeking information on how to identify exploitable interactions and identify the relevant questions.

Multidisciplinary teams are also welcome.

Accreditation

The course has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) with 6 European CME credits (ECMEC®s).

Scientific programme

Available here

Creating a thriving interdisciplinary team in radiation oncology, ready for the future

Friday, 12 May 2023 from 08:30-17:00

Course directors:

• Pierfrancesco Franco, Radiation Oncologist, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara (IT)
• Sophie Perryck, Radiation Therapist, University Hospital Zurich (CH)

Course aim:

The aim of this one-day pre-meeting course is to provide radiation oncology professionals a glimpse of the radiation oncology department of the future, bringing together all the elements that may contribute to create a thriving multidisciplinary team. The course will focus on the determinant factors of professional well-being, proposing interventions targeted both at the individual and organizational level, with a particular attention to diversity, equity and inclusion. The course will also discuss crucial elements in the establishment of an effective radiation oncology department, including, organizational culture, communication, professional development and responsibilities, envisioning new trends and directions in radiation oncology such as hypofractionation, hybrid technology, automation and mixed skills and responsibilities.

Learning objectives:

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

• Understand the dynamics and interactions within the radiation oncology team
• Recognize the warning signs for an imbalanced professional well-being and discuss potential interventions
• Realize the need for a diverse and inclusive interdisciplinary team
• Discuss about self-development as a mean to foster proficiency
• Develop a deep understanding of how organizational culture can help shape a well- functioning team at work
• Explain the different aspects of professional communication and the strategies to provide constructive feedback
• Demonstrate the importance of cross-fertilization amongst radiation oncology professions
• Discuss how new trends in radiation oncology (hypofractionation, AI, automation) can have an impact on the organization of the interdisciplinary team

Who should attend?

This pre-meeting course is aimed at radiation oncologists / clinical oncologists, medical physicists, radiobiologists and RTTs, at senior and trainee level and in leadership positions. The course may also be of interest to other health care professionals involved in radiation oncology treatment.

Accreditation

The course has been granted 5 European CME credits (ECMEC®s) by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME

Scientific programme

Availaible here