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Title Radiotherapy: Our Invisible Ally Against Cancer
Course number 5625
Programme Tumörbiologi och onkologi (FoTO)
Language English
Credits 1.5
Date 2023-03-06 -- 2023-03-10
Responsible KI department Institutionen för kvinnors och barns hälsa
Specific entry requirements The students are expected to have acquired a basic knowledge of cancer and/or radiation biology during pervious courses.
Purpose of the course The course will provide a platform to obtain advanced, cutting-edge pre-clinical and clinical knowledge in the field of radiation therapy.
Intended learning outcomes At the end of the course the participants should be able to:
• reflect upon radiotherapy from the patient’s perspective
• describe the properties of different types of ionizing radiation: photons, protons, electrons, and alpha particles
• describe the effects of ionizing radiation on different tissues
• understand basic radiation therapy dose calculations
• be aware of basic principles of when to choose radiotherapy as a treatment for a patient
• describe imaging tools used to create target plans
• apply principles of radiation protection for patients, self and others
• present late complications induced by radiotherapy
• elaborate on strategies of how to ameliorate the side effects of radiotherapy
• show analytical and critical thinking when discussing problems in the radiation therapy field, beyond what is found in textbooks
• connect their own research with topics covered in the course
Contents of the course • What is radiotherapy?
• Meet a patient who has undergone radiotherapy
• A brief history of radiotherapy
• Basic physics of radiotherapy
• Why can we use radiation to combat cancer?
• Biological effects of radiation
• Clinical considerations and uses
• Conjugated therapies and radiosensitizers
• Radiotherapy delivery options
• Radiotherapy-associated complications and their potential treatments
• Radiation safety and protection
• The future of radiotherapy
• Practical sessions (X-ray cell exposure; visit to the Radiotherapy department, KS)
• Examination
Teaching and learning activities For the most part, the course will consist of lectures by experts in the field. In addition, we will have two practical sessions and group exercises.
Compulsory elements Attendance is compulsory. Absence will need to be compensated by a written report of an extra assignment in the form of a literature review covering the missed topic.
Examination An oral exam consisting of a PowerPoint presentation and discussion of the group assignments, in which the students will present their solutions on different topics related to the course. Each student will be assessed individually.
Literature and other teaching material Recommended literature:

Recent Developments in Radiotherapy. Deborah E. Citrin, M.D. Editor Dan L. Longo, M.D. N Engl J Med 2017; 377:1065-1075. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1608986.

Review: Neurological Complications From Therapies for Pediatric Brain Tumors. Thien Nguyen, Sabine Mueller, Fatema Malbari. Front Oncol. 2022; 12:853034. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.853034.

Review: Cross-translational models of late-onset cognitive sequelae and their treatment in pediatric brain tumor survivors. Noor Z Al Dahhan, Elizabeth Cox, Brian J Nieman, Donald J Mabbott. Neuron 2022; 110(14):2215-2241. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.04.009.

Radiation Triggers a Dynamic Sequence of Transient Microglial Alterations in Juvenile Brain. Osman AM, Sun Y, Burns TC, He L, Kee N, Oliva-Vilarnau N, Alevyzaki A, Zhou K, Louhivuori L, Uhlén P, Hedlund E, Betsholtz C, Lauschke VM, Kele J, Blomgren K. Cell Rep. 2020; 31(9):107699. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107699.

Lithium treatment reverses irradiation-induced changes in rodent neural progenitors and rescues cognition. Zanni G, Goto S, Fragopoulou AF, Gaudenzi G, Naidoo V, Di Martino E, Levy G, Dominguez CA, Dethlefsen O, Cedazo-Minguez A, Merino-Serrais P, Stamatakis A, Hermanson O, Blomgren K. Mol Psychiatry. 2021; 26(1):322-340. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0584-0.

Number of students 8 - 16
Selection of students Selection will be based on 1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant's doctoral project (according to written motivation), 2) start date of doctoral studies (priority given to earlier start date)
More information Monday to Friday, 09:00-16:00 Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Bioclinicum, Conference room Tantal, J8:10
Additional course leader Phillip Newton, Lena-Maria Carlson, Carlos Rodrigues
Latest course evaluation Not available
Course responsible Adamantia Fragkopoulou
Institutionen för kvinnors och barns hälsa

adamantia.fragkopoulou@ki.se
Contact person -