GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy_introduction

Editors - Acknowledgements

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THE GEC ESTRO HANDBOOK OF BRACHYTHERAPY Version 1 - 30/01/2019

EDITORS OF “THE GEC ESTROHANDBOOK OF BRACHYTHERAPY” 2ND EDITION

Erik Van Limbergen Course director basic ESTRO Teaching Course “Modern Brachytherapy Techniques”

Richard Pötter Course director advanced ESTRO Teaching Course “Image-Guided Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy in Gynaecologic Cancer – Focus on Adaptive Brachytherapy”

Peter Hoskin Course director advanced ESTRO Teaching Course “Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer” Dimos Baltas Course director advanced ESTRO Teaching Course “Advanced Brachytherapy Physics”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This second edition of the GEC-ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy is developed out of the strong roots of the first edition. Therefore we wish to express our gratitude to all the authors and editors that have contributed to this standard work on brachytherapy and spe- cially to those who retired or left the field to explore other (professional) challenges of life: Alain Gerbaulet (“father” of the first edition), Jean-Jacques Mazeron and HarmMeertens as editors; Dan Ash, Edith Briot, Eric Lartigau and Pierre Scalliet as contributors. Their work formed the base for new developments in the brachytherapy world. These new developments have been growing through the different working groups of GEC-ESTRO: Braphyqs (chair Frank–André Sie- bert following Jack Venselaar), the Gynaecologic Working Group/Gyn GEC ESTRO network (chair Kari Tanderup and Richard Pötter following Christine Haie-Meder and Christian Kirsits), UroGEC (formerly “Probate”) chair Peter Hoskin following György Kovacs, Jan Battermann and Dan Ash, the Breast Working Group (chair Vratislav Strnad following Csaba Polgar and Erik Van Limbergen), the Anorectal Working Group (chair Arthur Sun Myint following Didier Peiffert), the Head and NeckWorking Group (chair György Kovacs following Jean Jacques Mazeron) and two working groups which were active for a limited time period, the Pattern of Care Working Group (chaired by Ferran Guedea) and the Endovascular Working Group (chaired >10 years ago by Richard Pötter). Without their con- tinuous activities in research and development, in scientific discussion and dissemination, in education and training and in the design of recommendations and guidelines many of the developments as elaborated in this book would not have become possible. We also thank all those who have been teaching modern brachytherapy in the different (GEC)-ESTRO brachytherapy Courses over the last 24 years. The input through so many people, coming from different places from North to the South and from the East to the West of Europe and even abroad needed an extra editing input to arrive at a common and correct “native” English language throughout all chapters. Our sincere thanks go to Professor Ann Barrett who is doing this job like for the first edition in an extraordinary meticulous way. Finally, we want to express our gratitude to Daneel Bogaerts who is responsible for the layout of the book and Melissa Vanderijst who handles the book on the ESTRO DOVE platform, both working in the ESTRO office.