Presidential address

Presidential address The European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) is a young society and its board recently supported the creation of a new journal Radiotherapy and Oncology, and decided to sponsor it for two main reasons. The first is linked to the present situation in the radiotherapeutic literature. Until the last decade, most journals of radiology were publishing articles dealing with both radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy. Two factors have brought about an evolution: (1) the rapid growth in the number of articles devoted to both imaging and radiation oncology; and (2) the separation of diagnostic and therapeutic radiology in the industrialized countries. Under pressure of a growing number of alzrplied papers, the radiological journals have naturally devoted most of their space to imaging. The few journals devoted to radiotherapy have not been able to provide enough space to publish all of the data valuable to the radiotherapy community. Thus in recent years it has become increasingly difficult, involving long delays, to publish a radiotherapy paper. Moreover these publications have been scattered among various journals, making it harder for a radiotherapist to keep abreast of the current pertinent literature. The second reason is related to ESTRO itself. One of the best ways by which a young scientific society can help its members and establish its identity is to sponsor a journal. A society needs a journal to foster the exchange of information between its members. A journal of a high scientific level contributes actively to the intellectual life of a society which in turn benefits from it. The aim of ESTRO is to promote the quality of radiotherapy, not only clinical radiotherapy but also experimental radiotherapy and radiobiology, radiation physics and dosimetry. Moreover, radiotherapists are by detinition oncologists and, as such, they are concerned with the natural history of human cancers, interactions between the turnout and its host, tumour classification and staging, histopathology of human tumours and of irradiated tissues, etc. Papers related to all these topics will be welcomed in Radiotherapy and Oncolog)'. One of the main avenues for progress during the last decade has been the active cooperation between surgeons, medical oncologists and radiotherapists. Not only will papers dealing with combined modality treatment be of interest, but Radiotherap)' and Oncology will also encourage articles that discuss the roles of surgery and chemotherapy in the management of human tumours. Radiotherapy and Oncology is the official journal of the European radiotherapists, but medicine and science have no boundaries. The publication will welcome high quality papers from all parts of the world, and in particular North America and South America, which have always had strong links with the European scientific community. Klaas Breur, who was the founder of ESTRO, also played a key role in the foundation of the International Society of Radiation and Oncology. Both J. Einhorn, who was the second president of ESTRO and myself, presently the third president, also deeply believe in international cooperation and friendship. It is on this foundation that the journal will function under the active leadership of Emmanuel van der Schueren and the editorial board. On behalf of all of the board of ESTRO, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for their efforts. We all hope that the joint venture of ESTRO and Radiotherapy and Oncology will not only be successful but will also be useful for radiotherapists, oncologists and their patients in Europe and throughout the world. M. TUBIANA President

Villejuif, May 1983