Abstract

Professor Philip Poortmans is a breast cancer specialist, with radiation therapy as a tool, with an extensive experience and recognized expertise. He practiced medicine in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and is currently active at Iridium Netwerk and University of Antwerp, Belgium. His Ph.D. thesis was focused on quality assurance in clinical trials in breast cancer and his current research focus is on FLASH-RT and different aspects of breast cancer treatment. Professor Poortmans is involved in multiple guidelines for breast cancer, serve on the editorial board of about 10 journals and published over 400 scientific articles and book chapters, co-editing 3 books. He is involved in teaching, being the course director of the of European Society for Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) Breast Courses and a faculty member of European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) and European School of Oncology (ESO). He was the president of ESTRO and of the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and he was granted honorary membership of multiple scientific societies. For all his activities and contributions, he received several awards, including the Jens Overgaard and Breur Awards from ESTRO and the St.Gallen Breast Cancer Award.

During this interview, he kindly shared with us his opinion on some breast cancer related hot topics.