Course director

Emmanouil Fokas, Radiation Oncologist, University of Cologne (GER)

Teachers

• Regina Beets-Tan, Radiologist, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (NL) 
• Ane Appelt, Medical Physicist, University of Leeds & St James’s University Hospital, Leeds (UK)
• Alexandra Gilbert, Clinical Oncologist, University of Leeds & St James’s University Hospital, Leeds (UK)
• Rob Glynne-Jones, Radiation Oncologist, Mount Vernon Centre for Cancer Treatment, London (UK)
• Brechtje Grotenhuis, Surgical Oncologist, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (NL) 
• Karin Haustermans, Radiation Oncologist, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven (BE)
• Claus Rödel, Radiation Oncologist, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt (DE))

Contouring administrator

• Maria Antonietta Gambacorta, Radiation Oncologist, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome (IT)

Guest Lecturer

• Geerard Beets, Surgical Oncologist, Netherlands Cancer Institute and Maastricht University (NL)

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this course participants should be able to:
• Understand and justify indications for radiation therapy in different clinical scenarios
• Integrate modern imaging into radiotherapy treatment planning and delivery
• Tailor target volume delineation according to tumour location and stage
• Optimise dose distribution and compare different RT techniques 
• Assess the usefulness of available IGRT technologies
• Monitor tumour response and discuss possible clinical consequences 
• Understand and exploit the interactions between radiation therapy and concurrent systemic treatment
• Improve radiation (and concurrent systemic treatment) delivery by optimised supportive care.

Course Content

Experts in the field will provide short lectures, interactive case discussions, small teaching groups on all technical aspects of radiotherapy planning and delivery, and open debates on controversial issues in multidisciplinary care. This will include state-of-the art teaching of pivotal clinical trials on anal and rectal cancer treatment and explanation of the background of current guidelines. This course will then have a particular focus on how to improve radiation therapy delivery, all the way down from initial patient set-up, treatment planning, delineation of target volumes, optimisation of dose distribution, image-guided monitoring of radiation delivery, and assessment of tumour response. 

Prerequisites

Before commencing this course, participants should: 

• Have studied the pivotal clinical trials that have established the role of radiation therapy and combined modality treatment approaches for anal and rectal cancer 
• Be familiar with standard procedures of radiation therapy planning and delivery
• Be aware of open questions and ongoing controversies in the multidisciplinary care of both tumour entities.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, interactive case discussions, small teaching groups on all technical aspects of RT planning and delivery, open debates on multidisciplinary care.

Methods of Assessment

• Small working groups with experts
• Survey Monkey based evaluation form
• Turning Point questionnaires.

Key Words

Rectal cancer, anal cancer, technical aspects of radiation treatment planning and delivery, concurrent systemic treatment, multidisciplinary care.

The draft scientific programme is available here

JUPITER LISBOA HOTEL
Avenida da Republica, 46
1050-195 Lisboa
Portugal

The course venue, Jupiter Hotel, is giving a special offer for accommodation for the participants of this course. If you would like to reserve a room in the course venue, please follow this link: 

https://bit.ly/ESTROLowerGI

Reservation deadline: 7 February 2025

Please note that all reservations are subject to availability.

Membership

ESTRO members can order products at substantially reduced prices. To benefit from the member registration rate, you must subscribe for the ESTRO membership 2025 BEFORE registering to the course. To become an ESTRO member, benefit from the member registration rate and discover the many other member advantages, please visit the membership page.

Fees

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

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

Advance registration & payment are required.

Access to homework and/or course material will become available upon receipt of full payment.

Insurance and cancellation

Participants are strongly advised to take out their own personal insurance policy. ESTRO does not accept liability for individual medical, travel or personal accidents or incidents. Participants are strongly advised to take insurance policies to cover flight and accommodation cancellation penalties. ESTRO will not refund any travel or accommodation expenses.

For any cancellation made by the course or workshop participant, ESTRO School Events Cancellation Policy will be followed and all stated penalty fees will be applied.

Reduced fees

Members from emerging countries may register at a preferential rate of 350 Euro. Emerging country fee applies to individuals from low-income and lower-middle-income economies according to the World Bank listing here.

Additionally, all specialties from the following countries can benefit from this preferential rate: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.  

The preferential rate of 350 Euro is granted automatically when you click on the  BOOK NOW  button and the three conditions below are met:

1. Only ESTRO members for 2025 are eligible (please make sure your 2025 membership is in order before you click on the BOOK NOW  button)
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:

• We can only guarantee a certain number of reduced fees per course
• Application deadlines are the same as early registration fees