The 57th Annual Meeting of the Particle Therapy Co-operative Group

From the 21st to the 26th of May, Cincinnati hosted the 57th Annual Meeting of the Particle Therapy Co-operative Group and the 5th Annual PTCOG-NA Meeting. The 2018 event took place at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and welcomed more than 1,000 physicians, physicists and radiobiologists as well as nurses, technicians, healthcare executives, and developers of future particle beam facilities. PTCOG 57’s theme was “Translating Science and Technology into Cancer Cures.”

V americkém Cinncinati se konal v termínu 21.-26. května 57. ročník m

The Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG), founded in 1985, is a non-profit worldwide organization of scientists and professionals interested in proton, light ion and heavy charged particle radiotherapy. The mission of PTCOG is to promote science, technology and practical clinical application of particle therapy, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment of cancer to the highest possible standards in radiation therapy. To serve and accomplish its objectives, PTCOG encourages improved and continuing education and promotes global activities in the field of particle radiation therapy. It supports the organization of dedicated international conferences, including scientific meetings and educational sessions.  

Not only was the scientific program a great success but participants also enjoyed the opportunity to tour the newly opened Cincinnati Children’s Hospital/University of Cincinnati Medical Center Proton Therapy Center. The PTCOG 57 Gala was also a very unique opportunity attending a national league baseball game in a VIP function room at the home of the oldest professional baseball team in the word – The Cincinnati Reds.  

PTCOG 57’s success was of particular importance to C-IN as it marked the next step in a transition to becoming PTCOG’s Core PCO partner for the organisation of their annual meeting. Having organised PTCOG 55 in 2016 as the appointed PCO, PTCOG and C-IN then started a 3-year transition towards being PTCOG’s long term conference organiser. This year saw C-IN organising all of the logistics and infrastructure to develop the scientific program, conference registration, sponsorship negotiation and management and finally the realisation of the conference mobile app. The transition will be complete in 2020 when PTCOG 59 will be held in Taipei as a full PTCOG and C-IN cooperation.