BRUSSELS – 10 May 2016 – The European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical  and  Healthcare  IT  Industry  (COCIR*)  and  the  European  Society  for Radiotherapy  &  Oncology  (ESTRO**)  have  announced  an  agreement  to  cooperate  and collaborate on matters of common interest.

COCIR  and  ESTRO  already  share  common  goals;  advancing  the  best  and  safe  use  of medical  technology,  particularly  radiotherapy;  appropriate  implementation  of  new technology and  accelerating patients access  to technology  for the  improvement  of health care.

Professor  Yolande  Lievens,  ESTRO  President,  said;  ”We  look  forward  to  working  with COCIR  in this spirit of enhanced  collaboration,  accumulating  evidence-based information on  the  value  of  radiotherapy.  It will also help increase awareness of the clinical, economical and societal benefits of radiation oncology among key stakeholders, including public authorities and institutions.”

Joost Leeflang, COCIR President  added;  “COCIR recognises ESTRO as the leading society representing  radiation  oncology,  fostering  and  driving  its  role  and  the  role  of  radiation oncology professionals in the multidisciplinary fight against cancer. COCIR members look forward  to  their  collaboration  with  the  ESTRO  community  in  Europe  and  beyond. Together,  in line with the vision of  ESTRO,  we can help  ensure that  every cancer patient can access state of the art radiation therapy, as part of a multidisciplinary approach  with treatment  individualised  to  the  patient’s  specific  illness  while  taking  account  of  the patient’s personal circumstances”.

The  letter  of  intent  was  formalised  at  last  week’s  ESTRO  35  congress  in  Torino,  which attracted over 5,000 delegates from more than 80 countries and the largest exhibition in Europe  in  the  field,  with  10.000  m2  of  exhibition  gathering  the  leading  brand  and industrial  partners  of  radiation  oncology.  The  event  saw  leading  doctors,  physicists, scientists  and  radiation  therapists  present  the  findings  of  new  research  in  clinical radiation oncology, radiobiology, physics, technology, patient care, radiation therapy and brachytherapy,  along  with  data  on  health  services  research  in  radiotherapy,  that  will benefit to cancer patients all over the world.

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*COCIR  is  the  European  Trade  Association  representing  the  medical  imaging,  radiotherapy,  health  ICT  and electromedical industries. Founded in 1959, COCIR is a non-profit association headquartered in Brussels (Belgium) with a China Desk based in Beijing since 2007. COCIR is the leading EU Industry Voice in eHealth and is unique as it brings together the healthcare, IT and telecommunications industries.  COCIR also acts at International level via BIAC and DITTA. Visit www.cocir.org

**  Founded  in  1980,  ESTRO,  the  European  SocieTy  for  Radiotherapy  &  Oncology,  is  a  non-profit  and  scientific organisation  that  fosters  the  role  of  Radiation  Oncology  in  order  to  improve  patients’  care  in  the  multimodality treatment  of  cancer.  With  over  6000  members  in  and  outside  Europe,  ESTRO  supports  all  the  Radiation  Oncology professionals  in  their  daily  practice:  Radiation  Oncologists,  Medical  Physicists,  Radiobiologists  and  RTTs  (Radiation TherapisTs) and the wider oncology community. Visit www.estro.org

For more information, contact:

For COCIR:
Nicole Denjoy
COCIR Secretary General
Tel: +32 (0)2 706 8961
denjoy@cocir.org

Colin Mackay
COCIR Communications Senior Advisor
Tel: +32 (0) 473 43 07 52
press@cocir.org

For ESTRO:
Chiara Gasparotto
Director of Policy and Partnership
+32 (0) 2 775 93 34
cgasparotto@estro.org

Cécile Hardon-Villard
Communications Manager 
+32 (0) 2 775 93 46
chardon@estro.org