Wednesday 19 May 2010 Speaker: Barbara Camanzi (PPD, RAL) Title: Toward a multi-modality approach to radiotherapy for cancer treatment in UK Abstract: Each year in the UK 293 000 people are diagnosed with cancer and 155 000 people die from cancer. This makes cancer the leading cause of mortality in people under the age of 75 and accounts for 1 in 4 deaths in the UK overall. Cancer is currently the third largest NHS disease programme (following mental health and circulatory diseases). The different forms of radiotherapy treatments used for cancer will be presented: external beam radiotherapy (x-ray and charged particle), internal radiotherapies using either sealed sources or radiopharmaceuticals and binary radiotherapies. The current status of these radiotherapy treatments in UK will be summarised. Examples of the application of the various radiotherapies to different types of tumour will also be presented. The multi-modality approach to radiotherapy, obtained by selecting the most appropriate form of radiotherapy treatment depending from the tumour type and by combing various forms of radiotherapy when appropriate, wil be explained. The advantages to the patient of this multi-modality approach to radiotherapy will also be discussed. The technological challenges faced in the development of such a multi-modality approach to radiotherapy will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be placed on the fields of quantitative imaging and dosimetry. The current state-of-the-art in these fields will be summarised, along with the technological advances needed. The impact on cancer diagnosis of foreseen improvements in quantitative imaging will also be examined. And the importance of early diagnosis in cancer care will be stressed.