Message from the President

Dear colleagues and friends,

As we look back at PTCOG64 in Deauville, I would like to thank once again the Local Organizing Committee, our Scientific Program and Educational Subcommittees, our partners, and, most importantly, all members of the PTCOG community who contributed to making the meeting such a success. With more than 1,300 participants from 47 countries and an exceptionally rich scientific program, Deauville confirmed the vitality and truly international character of our community. Among the many highlights that you will find in this Newsletter, I am pleased to remember the lecture of Prof. Alain Aspect, Nobel Prize in Pyhsics, the round table on the head-and-neck randomized trials in the US and UK with Steven Frank and David Thomson, and the Wilson Award lecture delivered by Eugen Hug.

Since Deauville, our community has already continued to meet and exchange ideas across the world. PTCOG-AO in Chennai provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen our connections across the Asia-Oceania region. I would like to congratulate the organizers for a successful meeting and to welcome Dr. Michael Wang as new PTCOG-AO chair. Looking ahead, PTCOG-NA will bring us to the USA in November. I hope many of you will be able to go to Washington, DC, and continue the discussions that began in Deauville and Chennai.

Our next annual meeting, PTCOG65, will take place in Bangkok from 7–12 June 2027, together with the 7th PTCOG-AO meeting. I am very happy that PTCOG returns to Asia, the region with the largest growth rate in particle therapy. Under the theme “Advancing Particle Therapy Together,” PTCOG65 will provide another opportunity to bring together the clinical, scientific, technological, and industrial communities that are shaping the future of our field.

This period also marks an important transition for PTCOG as an organization. After 25 years of extraordinary service as Secretary and Treasurer, Martin Jermann is stepping down from this role. It is difficult to overstate the contribution Martin has made to PTCOG over these many years. Much of the continuity, organization, and institutional memory of our society is closely connected with his work, and I would like to express my personal gratitude, as well as that of the entire PTCOG community, for his dedication and commitment.

I am very pleased that Anita Mahajan (secretary) and Hsiao-Ming Lu (treasurer) will take over Martin’s responsibilities, ensuring continuity while bringing new energy to the leadership of our organization. At the same time, PTCOG has adopted new Statutes and Internal Regulations and is moving its legal residence to Geneva. These changes provide a modern and robust framework for the continued development of our society as our community grows and becomes increasingly global.

I look forward to continuing this journey with all of you, from Washington to Bangkok and beyond.

With warm regards,

Marco Durante

President, PTCOG