The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) recently announced a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) that formalizes a collaborative approach to developing clinical practice guidelines for radiation oncology treatments. The agreement was announced during the ESTRO Annual Congress in Stockholm.

Through this agreement, ASTRO and ESTRO will produce a majority of their future guidelines together. The partnership is designed to increase the impact of evidence-based guidance for clinicians worldwide.

“Adherence to clinical guidelines has been associated with improved patient outcomes and overall survival across cancer types,” said ESTRO President Matthias Guckenberger, MD. “By speaking with one voice, ASTRO and ESTRO are providing the global radiation oncology community with unified guidance that will improve the lives of the patients we serve.”

“ASTRO and ESTRO have collaborated on a number of guidelines in the past, and this agreement is a practical step forward to build on that work,” said ASTRO President Neha Vapiwala, MD, FASTRO. “By aligning future guideline development and governance, our societies can make better use of our resources while providing consistent, evidence‑based recommendations for patients across regions.”

The MoU outlines the creation of a joint committee with representatives from each society that will oversee topic selection and guideline development. It also outlines logistics of the collaboration, such as governance, guideline authorship and journal publication.

ASTRO and ESTRO each regularly develop clinical practice guidelines to support evidence‑based decision making in radiation oncology. Through this agreement, the two medical societies will coordinate these efforts to streamline future guidelines.

ABOUT ASTRO
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is the world’s largest professional society dedicated to advancing radiation oncology, with 10,000 members including physicians, nurses, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other professionals who work to improve patient outcomes through clinical care, research, education and policy advocacy. Radiation therapy is integral to 40% of cancer cures worldwide, and more than one million Americans receive radiation treatments for their cancer each year. For information on radiation therapy, visit Speed of Light - The ASTRO Foundation. To learn more about ASTRO, visit our website and media center and connect with us on social media.

ABOUT ESTRO
ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology) is a not-for-profit organisation that advances all aspects of radiation oncology in order to improve patients’ care in the multimodality treatment of cancer. With 10,000 members around the world, ESTRO’s mission is to promote innovation, dissemination of science and education, hence supporting all the radiation oncology professionals in their daily practice. Visit www.estro.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, BlueSky, Instagram and Facebook.