HIGHLIGHTS December 2016 EDITORIAL TEAM EDITORIAL FROM COORDINATOR HIGHLIGHTS EDITORIAL TEAM Virginia Greco Manjit Dosanjh Antonella Del Rosso THE EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR LIGHT ION HADRON FROM THE ENLIGHT ENLIGHT THERAPY COORDINATOR COORDINATOR A multidisciplinary platform aimed at a coordinated effort towards ion beam Manjit Dosanjh Manjit Dosanjh research in Europe. PHOTO CREDITS he European Network for Light Ion Hadron CERN Therapy (ENLIGHT), which had its inaugural Salvatore Fiore Tmeeting at the European Organization for Phase 2 has started Holland PTC Nuclear Research (CERN) in February 2002, today IBA has more than 600 participants from nearly 25 In almost 15 years since its creation in 2002, ENLIGHT to deliver more dedicated training to nurture experts in such a MAASTRO European countries. Harnessing the full potential has witnessed a large increase of dedicated centres that complex and multidisciplinary field. Our members are among MEDINET of particle therapy requires the expertise and use proton and carbon ions to treat cancer. In addition, the best trainers the world needs to meet this requirement. MEDIPIX ability of physicists, physicians, radiobiologists, despite their continuing cost, innovative medical Thanks to the highly collaborative spirit existing in our network MEVION Medical Systems engineers, and information technology experts, as imaging techniques are starting to make their way into and with the help of the newly appointed members of the Hanne Nijhuis well as collaboration between academic, research, routine diagnostic methods. Adapting and evolving is advisory board, we are committed to work in identifying and Nikhef and industrial partners. an intrinsic feature of the ENLIGHT network and in 2015 prioritizing our challenges, those that will shape the future of OncoRay the network decided to gear up and start a new phase The ENLIGHT network has been instrumental in ENLIGHT. The advisory committee and the coordinator will ParTICLe consortium to meet the fast-changing environment for improving bringing together different European centers to have to work on defining strategies to secure funds for the Simon Procz cancer outcomes. I am proud to say that the change has promote hadron therapy and to help establish network. We also need to make sure that our actions and University Medical Centre of Groningen already begun. international discussions comparing the impact are appropriately covered in the media and in the press University of Aarhus respective advantages of intensity modulated At our annual meeting last year in Krakow, after reflections as much as possible. University of Freiburg radiation proton and carbon therapies. A major and discussion we had outlined some ideas, including the University of Groningen Our main communication and outreach means are the very success of ENLIGHT has been the creation of establishment of an advisory committee to help the coordinator, Ernst van Hoek pages you are reading. ENLIGHT Highlights is distributed for a multidisciplinary platform bringing together the need for lobbying for funding and the addition of training as free in over 100 institutes in about 25 countries. It helps us VARIAN Medical Systems communities that were traditionally separated, one of the main scopes of the network’s activity. Following up share information about the network and its achievements. Levien Willemse so that clinicians, physicists, biologists, and on those ideas, a project within the CERN in Society frame has We are committed to improve it further and make it an even ZON-PTC engineers work side-by-side. Special attention is been presented. Although we are still waiting for evaluation, this more valuable resource for you ENLIGHT members to share also given to the training of young researchers is the first, important step to make ENLIGHT self-sustaining. Cover: Head mask for radiotherapy, used to it as much as you can and for everybody to keep up-to-date and professionals working in the field. For the same reasons, we also plan to establish ENLIGHT as a aid correct and optimal positioning during the with the latest news in cancer treatment based on cutting-edge foundation or a non-profit organization and possibly charge for treatment. For more information and contact details please solutions and the research needed to make it happen. institutional membership. visit the ENLIGHT website at cern.ch/enlight Contents and images in this publication are covered by copyright. Do not copy, reproduce, modify, adapt or Join the ENLIGHT network. Register to be- At our recent gathering in Utrecht, we already implemented the translate without written permission from the Editor. All idea of including training in the programme of ENLIGHT annual rights are reserved. come a member here. https://indico.cern.ch/confRegistration- meetings. Indeed, the construction of more and more facilities providing particle therapy across Europe makes it necessary FormDisplay.py/display?confId=180036 Manjit Dosanjh 1 HIGHLIGHTS | CERN.CH/ENLIGHT CERN.CH/ENLIGHT | HIGHLIGHTS 2 PAGE INDEX PAGE INDEX PAGE 2. 5. 9. 10. 11. 12. FROM THE COORDINATOR ENLIGHT ANNUAL MEETING A VERY SUCCESSFUL FOCUS ON FOCUS ON FOCUS ON Phase 2 has started 2016 MEETING Ander Biguri Armin Luhr Thyrza Jagt General summary of the annual meeting 13. 15. 20. 23. 25. 27. NEXT ENLIGHT MEETING ICTR-PHE 2016 PARTICLE THERAPY IN THE PARTICLE THERAPY IN THE PARTICLE THERAPY IN THE THE MEDINET PROJECT in Aarhus CONFERENCE NETHERLANDS NETHERLANDS NETHERLANDS and the role of radiation quality in HollandPTC in Delft UMC Groningen PTC ZON-PTC in Maastricht ion-beam therapy 29. 31. 33. 35. 39. 41. THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW ADVANCES IN NEW ADVANCES IN DIVONNE BRAINSTORMING ICEC WORKSHOP @ CERN ENLIGHT ADVISORY PARTICLE IN BELGIUM IMAGING IMAGING What are the needs of the medical A partnership-mentorship approach COMMITTEE Image guided and adaptive PT Medipix based medical imaging field? for global access to radiation therapy PAGE INDEX 3 HIGHLIGHTS | CERN.CH/ENLIGHT CERN.CH/ENLIGHT | HIGHLIGHTS 4 ENLIGHT 2016 ENLIGHT 2016 ENLIGHT Photos by Hanne Nijhuis by Photos The Organizing Committee and collaborators. From left to Faculty members of the first training course organised during right: Jan Visser (Nikhef), Manjit Dosanjh (CERN), Els Koffeman the ENLIGHT meeting. From left to right: Kari Tanderup, Richard (Nikhef), Virginia Greco (CERN), Christos Papasimos (CERN), Poetter, Machiel Jansen, Bas Raaymakers, Bleddyn Jones and Giovanni Porcellana (CERN). Martin Pruschy. The ENLIGHT Annual Meeting this year was held in patients for different types of treatments, and the need for Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 15 and 16 September. For access and sharing of clinical data. the first time, ENLIGHT has brought training in the core programme of its network meetings, dedicating a full day Time was also given to young researchers, who had the (17 September) to lectures on keys aspects of particle possibility of exhibiting posters summarizing their research therapy. activity. The second day of meeting was closed with the awarding of the authors of the best three posters the chance The annual meeting of the ENLIGHT network gathers experts to give oral presentations of their work to the ENLIGHT meeting and delegates from most of the European centres and research participants. The prizes were presented by Els Koffman and Jan institutions working on particle therapy for cancer treatment. Visser from Nikhef to the winners Ander Biguri (University of This year the meeting was hosted by the University of Utrecht, Bath), Thyrza Jagt (Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam) in the Netherlands, on 15 and 16 September. Chaired by and Armin Luhr (Oncoray, Dresden). the ENLIGHT co-coordinator, Manjit Dosanjh, and the local organizers, Els Koffeman and Jan Visser from Nikhef, the PROTON THERAPY BOOSTED IN THE conference was attended by almost 100 participants from 15 NETHERLANDS countries. Leading medical experts of the new Dutch centres for proton The location was carefully selected as one of the key topics of therapy (Hans Langendijk, Marco van Vulpen, Bart Vanhauten, discussion of the meeting was the design and realisation of Geert Bosmans) presented the national programme and the four brand new centres for proton therapy in the Netherlands, current state of the facilities, which are distributed over the - Groningen, Maastricht, Delft and Amsterdam – that followed country: in Delft, Groningen, Maastricht, and Amsterdam. the recent approval by the Dutch Government of a plan for The ambitious and extensive programme was launched in making proton therapy available nation-wide. 2013 by the Dutch government and it is being implemented in a relatively short time. The Holland Proton Therapy Centre In addition to the collaborative model of the new Dutch (Holland PTC) of Delft and the UMC Groningen PTC are centres for treatment with proton and heavier ions, many already under construction and they foresee to start treating other hot topics were discussed, including the recent progress patients at the end of 2017 (August for Delft and December and technological break-throughs in medical imaging, the for Groningen). The proton therapy centre in Maastricht is importance of using a standard NCTP model for selecting heading towards the construction phase and plans to integrate the proton facility in the existing radiotherapy centre, so that hospital structures and experts can be shared. They should be able to treat the first patient in 2018. Finally, the fourth centre, which will be established in Amsterdam,