The series on “Quality Assurance in Radiotherapy” is edited by Drs Paul Van Houtte and Dirk Van Gestel (Institut Jules Bordet, Belgium). This series is to provide a comprehensive review and further discussion on quality assurance in radiotherapy, and include empirical experience and valuable opinions from recognized experts in this field from prestigious institutions of different countries.
Paul Van Houtte, MD, PhD
Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Paul Van Houtte was graduated from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and has completed his postgraduate training in the Institut Bordet and earned a license of radiation oncology in 1978 and nuclear medicine. Except for two years spent in Rochester, New York in the department of P.Rubin, all his medical activity took place in Brussels. He became head of this department of radiation oncology in 1986 till 2014 and is currently professor emeritus of radiation oncology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
His main area of research and activities was related to lung, gastro-intestinal and prostatic cancer. He has been active within the EORTC Radiotherapy group, the European Lung Working Party and the International association for the study of Lung Cancer. One main interest has been to promote the treatment of lung cancer especially the multimodality approach including the chemo-radiotherapy approach but also to promote a radiation treatment of quality through an active participation in teaching activities at the national and international level.
Dirk Van Gestel, MD, PhD
Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Dirk Van Gestel is born in Antwerpen in 1968. He graduated from the University of Leuven in 1993 and completed his training in radiation oncology at the Université Catholique de Louvain and at the AZ Middelheim. Since September 1999, he joined the department where he was in charge of Tomotherapy unit and involved in the ‘Tomotherapy® Hi-Art teaching classes at the European training centre in Antwerp’ by explaining the medical aspects and possibilities of Tomotherapy. In January 2015, he obtained his PhD with a thesis entitled “The place of Helical Tomotherapy in the treatment of head and neck cancer”.
Since March 2015, he is the Head of the Radiotherapy Department of the Jules Bordet Institute and also Professor in radiotherapy (Maître de Conférences) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles/Institut Jules Bordet.
His main area of and expertise are in the treatment of head and neck cancer, soft tissue sarcomas but also in radiotherapy planning, quality control and the implementation in clinical routine of new technologies (e.g. IMRT, EPID, Helical Tomotherapy, VMAT….). He has involved since 2010 in the “ESTRO teaching course on IMRT and other conformal techniques in practice” and since 2012 at the “ESTRO teaching course on advanced planning techniques”.
He was president of our national society of radiation oncology (BeSTRO), member of the national hadron committee, of ESTRO, EORTC radiation oncology group, Groupe de Contact FNRS Tête & Cou, European Head and Neck Society (EHNS)…He has more than 5o publications and many presentations in national and international meetings.
Series outline:
- Introduction to the whole series
Paul Van Houtte & Dirk Van Gestel (Institut Jules Bordet, Belgium) - From clinical trials to the daily practice: the experience of the belgian college of radiation oncology
Aude Vaandering (Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Belgium) - How to use PECT for the treatrment planning of lung cancer
Eleni Gkika & Ursula Nestle (University of Freiburg, Germany) - Do we need to implement a quality assurance in thoracic oncology?
Paraskevas Lyberis & Enrico Ruffini (University of Torino, Italy) - A national project of quality assurance for thoracic oncology
Thomas Descamps & Luigi Moretti (Institut Jules Bordet, Belgium) - How to use safely adaptative radiotherapy for lung cancer
Sara Ramella (University of Rome, Italy) - Should nutrition policy be part of the radiation treatment
Disclosure:
The series “Quality Assurance in Radiotherapy” was commissioned by the editorial office, Precision Cancer Medicine without any sponsorship or funding. Drs Paul Van Houtte and Dirk Van Gestel are serving as the unpaid Guest Editors for the series.