The course provides an overview of (1) radiobiological and physical principles of radiation oncology, (2) technical innovation in precision radiotherapy, and (3) the route of the radiotherapy patient – via diagnosis, imaging and treatment planning – to therapy.

Topics that will be addressed: effects of irradiation on the DNA and on cellular biology; radiation response of tumours and normal tissues; physics of modern conformal radiotherapy; imaging; treatment planning; fractionation and hypofractionation; particle irradiation; image-guided radiotherapy; brachytherapy; combination treatment with chemotherapy and targeted agents, hyperthermia and immunotherapy; treatment of breast cancer, lung cancer, gynaecological and head & neck tumours; quality of life and late effects. New and exciting developments in radiation oncology will be addressed. The course encompasses three practical trainings: (1) the radiobiology laboratory (2) computer-based target volume delineation (3) patient treatment simulation on a linear accelerator.