Medical doctor and PhD Pernille Lassen and PhD student Thomas Ravkilde from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital both carry out research into cancer, and they have just been honoured for their research. They were honoured at ESTRO, the largest radiotherapy congress held in Europe.

Pernille Lassen received the Donal Hollywood award - awarded for the first time - for the best abstract submitted out of a total of 2,000 abstracts. Her data is based on clinical studies that the Danish head and neck cancer group DAHANCA has carried out since 1980.
Pernille Lassen is pleased with the award, which can mean increased focus on her field of research.

"The award contributes to the general discussion and acceptance of our work. Because we are talking about national studies that comprise all Danish patients with head and neck cancer, the data is very valuable and unique worldwide. The results have therefore had a great deal of significance for the area," says Pernille Lassen, who hopes to be able to continue to contribute to the field of research as there are still many unclear issues, both with regard to tumour biology and the clinical significance of this.

The other award winner is Thomas Ravkilde, who received the Jack Fowler award for best abstract within physics and technology. His area of research focuses on improving the radiotherapy of tumours by adapting the radiation field to the position of the tumour, so-called tumour tracking.
The award was given for a method to calculate how correct the earmarked radiation doses is during the treatment - a method that also works for ordinary treatments without tumour tracking.

"We hope to create awareness about the possibility of better quality assurance of radiotherapy for both moving and non-moving tumours. Normally, we make sure that the radiation device can perform a treatment satisfactorily before the patient receives the treatment. Our work shows that it is possible to perform a similar form of quality assurance during the treatment, where you also take the actual movement of the tumour into account," explains Thomas Ravkilde.

Further information

Medical Doctor and PhD Pernille Lassen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, the Department of Experimental Clinical Oncology pernille@oncology.dk

PhD student Thomas Ravkilde
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Oncology
tlr@ki.au.dk