Leiden University Medical Center

The LUMC is a modern knowledge center. The more than 7000 staff members of the LUMC are passionate about improving patient care through scientific research. They offer courses of instruction  and continuing education to train doctors for this purpose. The LUMC focuses on top clinical and highly specialized care: the complex medical issues for which there are often no answers yet. With patient care and research labs under one roof, patients, doctors and researchers collaborate to develop new treatment methods.

Brachytherapy expertise

LUMC is an international expert center for radiation oncology including brachytherapy. The department of Radiation Oncology is involved in translational and clinical research, aimed at improvement of radiation therapy and combined modalities for cancer treatment. The research and studies into treatment of of rectal carcinoma has been extremely successful and has led to the preoperative radiation scheme to become standard for rectal carcinoma treatment. In endometrial cancer, the PORTEC trials have confirmed the role of radiation therapy in endometrial cancer and have had major impact on international treatment guidelines. The hospital treats around 250 patients per year with HDR brachytherapy, with a brachytherapy staff that is comprised of seven radiation oncologists, three physicists and six brachytherapy technicians.

Educational activities

As part of the BrachyAcademy, LUMC is a designated Educational Center for brachytherapy with a focus on gynecological and rectum cancer treatment. Training visits to the hospital can be scheduled  include education on clinical workflows and observation of daily practice.