ESTRO SCHOOL
COURSE REPORT
BASIC CLINICAL RADIOBIOLOGY 7 - 11 March 2015 | Brussels, Belgium
COURSE DIRECTOR
Michael Joiner Radiation biologist Wayne State University Detroit, USA Having heard about this course from my colleagues who attended it last year in Istanbul, I decided to join this year’s course, which took place in the lovely city of Brussels in Belgium. As a radiation oncology resident in training, I found this course to be of great importance to me personally. Moreover, after meeting many different people in different positions, practising in various radiation oncology departments all over the world, I have noticed a real agreement about the importance of this course and their interest in learning more about radiation biology. I strongly believe that all in-training and even practising radiation oncologists must do their best to attend this course, as it touched on many of the daily scenarios we face when treating patients with radiation therapy. Backed up by evidence-based data, world leading professors spared no effort in presenting to us their own scientific work, as well as other basic and clinical data, and explaining to us the different concepts that are, in my opinion, never easy to understand when reading about them on our own. The course started with a brief introduction by the course director, Dr Michael Joiner, with a free copy of his book “Basic Clinical Radiobiology” distributed to all participants. Several basic/introductory lectures came afterwards where each presenter touched upon a subject that was to be expanded on later. This was followed by a welcome reception at which all
participants and lecturers had the chance to chat and exchange ideas and thoughts on many different topics in general, and on radiation therapy in particular. During the subsequent days, the bulk of the material was explained in easy terms; slides had been made available to us several days before the course to make it much easier to understand and comprehend. A couple of real clinical cases and application sessions were also held. In these very practical sessions, all of us had the chance to apply almost all the concepts we had learned on the course. The course ended with an interactive question and answer session that covered all of the taught material. The course was held in the Thon Hotel, located in the very centre of Brussels. The venue provided an excellent environment for the course and, above all, its location was magnificent. The second day of the course featured a visit to the famous breath-
taking Atomium. There we had a friendly welcome from “Tintin”, the world-famous Belgian comic book character. After which, we had a fantastic guided tour and a lovely dinner. During this event, participants and lecturers also had the chance to discuss different topics, ideas, and ongoing research related to radiation biology and oncology in general. In conclusion, I strongly encourage all radiation oncology residents, medical
IBRAHIM ABU-GHEIDA
oncology residents and fellows, medical physicists and dosimetrists, radiation biologists, medical students interested in oncology and/or radiation oncology, and even practising radiation oncologists from all over the world to attend this course, even if it is just as a refresher and reminder of the most important concepts that we all use and apply in our daily practice when treating patients with radiotherapy. I am confident that this course is a good introduction to basic but crucial concepts in radiation biology; it provided us with a method for understanding those concepts, and pursuing
more reading by ourselves, which will help us ultimately to make scientific decisions in real life situations for our patients in all parts of the world. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida 2nd Year Resident - Department of Radiation Oncology Naef K Basile Cancer Institute, American University of Beirut Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon
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