An Interview with Associate Professor Georgina Fröhlich
Medical Physicist, National Institute of Oncology & Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary)
Brachytherapy continues to rapidly evolve through artificial intelligence, 3D printing, image guidance, and multimodal treatment strategies. This evolution is further driven by a strong multidisciplinary commitment from radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and RTTs, supported by industry partners and increasingly engaged patient advocacy groups. To capture these multidisciplinary advances, ESTRO’s three open-access journals—Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology (phiRO), Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology (ctRO), and Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology (tipsRO)—have joined forces for a special collaborative issue: Highlights of Brachytherapy 2026.
Ahead of the 30 October 2026 submission deadline, we spoke with guest editor Assoc. Prof. Georgina Fröhlich (phiRO) to discuss the vision behind this joint initiative, the latest technical breakthroughs in the field, and why cross-specialty collaboration is key to elevating patient care.
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What motivated this collaboration between phiRO, ctRO, and tipsRO, rather than a special issue in a single journal? Why was it important to adopt a joint, multidisciplinary approach for brachytherapy?
Brachytherapy is arguably the most inherently multidisciplinary sub-field within radiation oncology. It sits at the precise intersection of surgical disciplines—such as gynaecology, urology, head and neck, and breast surgery—alongside anaesthesiology, radiation physics, radiobiology, advanced imaging, and information technology. Because of this complexity, impactful brachytherapy research rarely happens in isolation; a physician cannot present a complete clinical picture without the precise physics and dosimetric parameters, just as a physicist cannot validate a new technological advance without robust clinical context and the dedicated execution of radiation therapists (RTTs) and radiation therapy (RT) nurses.
Building on the success of our first multi-journal Virtual Special Issue (VSI)—which brought together 25 articles and highlighted how breakthroughs in modern brachytherapy are transforming cancer care—it was a natural choice to repeat and expand this collaborative effort. By uniting ESTRO’s three open-access journals (phiRO, ctRO, and tipsRO), we create a seamless home for the full spectrum of modern practice. This joint approach allows us to capture high-scoring proffered papers from the annual ESTRO congress alongside state-of-the-art review papers stemming from the GEC-ESTRO Workshop. Ultimately, a single-journal focus would fragment what is naturally a unified treatment philosophy; bringing the three journals together reflects how we actually work in the clinic every day.
The call highlights emerging technologies like AI-driven planning and 3D printing. What recent technological advances in brachytherapy are you most excited to showcase?
What excites me most is how rapidly technological innovations are translating into workflow efficiency and personalized care.
First, inverse planning and plan automation—such as AI-driven optimization algorithms—are revolutionizing dosimetric workflows by delivering highly consistent, optimal dose distributions in a fraction of the time. Simultaneously, 3D printing and patient-specific applicators offer tailored anatomical fits that maximize target coverage while sparing normal tissues.
Furthermore, this special issue highlights key topics from the GEC-ESTRO Workshop: extremely accelerated partial breast irradiation, expanding focal brachytherapy beyond the prostate, and integrating biomarkers in gynaecological cases post-EMBRACE. By bridging automated inverse optimization, customized hardware, and biologically guided strategies, we are witnessing a true paradigm shift in precision radiotherapy.
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“Just as we rely on each other in the clinic every single day, we need to stand together in the scientific arena.”
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From medical physics to clinical practice and patient support, how do you see the roles of different brachytherapy specialists evolving within modern, highly specialized multidisciplinary teams?
The evolution of modern brachytherapy is actively redefining professional roles across the entire care team. Rather than working in silos, specialists are increasingly operating in overlapping, highly collaborative domains.
For medical physicists, the focus is shifting from routine manual dosimetry toward algorithm validation, script automation, and image-guided workflow optimization. Clinicians are moving beyond standardized implantation techniques to integrate advanced imaging, surgical refinements, and biological markers. Simultaneously, RTTs and RT nurses are taking on an expanded, critical role—not only in treatment execution and quality assurance, but also in patient preparation, 3D printing workflows, and direct patient support.
As technologies grow more complex, true precision relies on this synergy: physicists drive automated precision, clinicians guide adaptive biological targeting, and RTTs/RT nurses bridge the gap between technical execution and compassionate patient care.
Beyond high-tech innovations, how do these collective developments ultimately translate into better outcomes, fewer side effects, and improved quality of life for patients?
Radiation oncology history itself began with brachytherapy, and even in today’s era of high-tech radiotherapy, no other modality can match its inherent, pinpoint accuracy. Putting radiation directly where it is needed creates steep dose gradients that external radiation simply cannot replicate.
Building on this unique physical foundation, our latest collective innovations translate directly into tangible patient benefits. AI-driven inverse planning and 3D-printed custom applicators allow us to tailor treatment to complex individual anatomies with extreme precision. Conformal dose distributions significantly reduce toxicities, ensuring better organ preservation and functional outcomes. Meanwhile, automated workflows shorten procedure times, reducing physical discomfort and anxiety. High-tech advances refine our tools, turning unmatched precision into gentler treatments, faster recovery, and a superior long-term quality of life for patients.
What message would you share with researchers and clinicians who are still on the fence about submitting before October 30th?
My message is simple: do not hesitate—submit your work! :-)
Despite brachytherapy being the ultimate high-precision modality, its scientific visibility often falls short of what it truly deserves. We need to flood the scientific literature with our high-quality data and breakthroughs. By contributing to this joint VSI across phiRO, ctRO, and tipsRO, you aren't just publishing an isolated paper; you are joining a collective, multidisciplinary movement that boosts the visibility of our entire field—and elevates your own research alongside it. Just as we rely on each other in the clinic every single day, we need to stand together in the scientific arena.
Although I stepped into the editing process near the very end of our first VSI, with this second edition we hope to establish a proud, annual tradition—a dedicated “brachytherapy journal within journals” connected to the GEC-ESTRO Workshop and the annual ESTRO congress.
If you had a high-scoring abstract at ESTRO 2026 or are conducting cutting-edge work in brachytherapy, this is your platform. Let’s show the radiation oncology community what modern brachytherapy can do. Submit before October 30th and shape the future of our specialty together!