Date:
21^st January 2016

Venue:
Education Centre, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester

Course description:

Radiotherapy has been used for the treatment of skin cancers since 1899 and continues to be a highly effective and noninvasive alternative to surgery. The choice for radiotherapy for a particular BCC or SCC depends less on the likelihood of tumor control than on the anticipated cosmetic and functional results. Also patient conditions and preference can lead to choosing radiotherapy over surgery. Several therapeutic modalities exist to deliver radiotherapy for skin cancer. One of these, brachytherapy involves in accurate placement of the radiation source directly onto or into the target tissues using specialized applicators. This enables the most conformal radiation therapy to be delivered to the tumor, while minimizing collateral irradiation of adjacent health tissue. Recent developments in the field of radiotherapy for skin cancer have included the introduction of electronic brachytherapy. Electronic brachytherapy combines the benefits of brachytherapy (accurate placement, conformal delivery and rapid dose fall off) with the reduced shielding requirements and targeted energy of low energy X-rays. In order to obtain optimal outcome with respect to treatment efficacy, cosmetic outcome and patient Quality of Life it is not only important to use the right treatment modality, but also to use it in the right way. This two-day workshop is intended to help new and experienced users of brachytherapy for skin cancer improve or validate their workflow and procedures, give insight into other sites' procedures and protocols, get hands on experience with some practical tools and have the opportunity to discuss their experience and problems they face.

Workshop objectives:

• Participants will get an integrated overview of the clinical benefits of brachytherapy for skin cancer, the clinical procedure and equipment
• Participants will obtain comprehensive practical insight into the clinical workflow of both HDR and electronic brachytherapy for skin cancer
• Participants will get a hands on impression of Ultrasound diagnosis, applicator positioning and the planning and delivery methods of electronic as well as HDR brachytherapy
• Practical issues, solutions and constraints for each participating center are defined during extensive discussions on the practical aspects of successfully implementing the technique

Workshop topics:

• Clinical results of skin brachytherapy
• Patient and lesion selection
• HDR brachy for skin
• Electronic brachy for skin
• Applicator selection, assembly and preparation
• Treatment planning
• Team roles, logistics and infrastructure
• Hands-on diagnosis, planning and applicator positioning
• Simulation of patient treatment

Targeted Audience:

Radiation oncologists, Dermatologists, Medical physicists, Radiographers/Dosimetrists, Mould Room/Clinical Technologists

Entry level:

Experience in brachytherapy is desirable