Programme

Overview: As radiotherapy evolves, a gap still exists between clinical intentions and patients' actual experiences. This session will explore how a true partnership between patients and professionals can reshape the field by integrating the patient’s voice. Key topics will address patient priorities, including effective communication, preparation for treatment, emotional support, and inclusive care. The landscape of co-creation in shared decision-making will be discussed, focusing on gaps between intention and practice. The symposium will consider how patient and public involvement (PPI) can be integrated into development strategies, highlighting its potential to bridge the gap and support more responsive, patient-centred services.

Overview: Synergy is defined as the concept where a combined effect of two or more entities is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Radiation oncology is evolving rapidly and on several fronts; where these fronts intersect, synergy can emerge. These joint evolutions carry the potential to have a lasting impact in the field, such as IGRT, which is now widely adopted. In this session, topics covered will range from combining protons with photons or MR-Linacs to pairing conventional RT with theranostics or FLASH, and adaptive RT with functional imaging. Five European experts in the field pitch their research, addressing potential clinical benefits, technical challenges, and future prospects.

Overview: Radiation oncology professionals have a strong and diverse training focusing on our core disciplines. Methodologies borrowed from other fields hold unique potential to advance our field, yet, we do not receive any training on how to use these methods. This session will explore various and innovative methodologies, including qualitative and survey-based research, and review their role in changing clinical practice. Aimed at early career professionals and researchers, speakers will share tips and tricks to get started with methods outside of your own comfort zone and achieve real impact with research data.

Overview: Curious about biology-driven innovations in radiotherapy? Join this exciting session, where four expert speakers will pitch cutting-edge research areas. Topics include novel RT techniques such as FLASH, spatial fractionation, biology-guided radiotherapy, and boron-neutron capture therapy. Through exploration of recent results and the current status of each topic, the session will highlight potential clinical impact and reflect on how these emerging approaches may shape the future of radiotherapy.

Overview: This session explores the clinical impact of AI in radiotherapy workflows to date. Presentations will cover the use of AI in image segmentation and treatment planning, highlighting improvements in efficiency, consistency, and precision. In addition, the potential and current bottlenecks of AI in supporting clinical decision-making will be discussed. Finally, insights from the ARCHERY trial will demonstrate how large-scale evaluation can advance the global implementation of AI. Together, these talks provide a comprehensive overview of what AI has brought to clinical practice so far and what lies ahead.

Overview: This symposium explores how different aspects of radiotherapy practice contribute to improving the patient experience. It highlights the role of RTT-led research in understanding what matters most to patients. The development of clinical academic career pathways is discussed, showing how RTTs can combine clinical work and research to directly improve care. Patient engagement is another key focus, demonstrating how continuity and supportive interactions with RTTs positively influence patient experience and satisfaction. Finally, the symposium examines how technological innovations, such as AI and adaptive radiotherapy, can support patient-centred care when guided by patient needs, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a focus on meaningful outcomes.