ABSTRACT
Radiation therapy in Erlangen has a long history that dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century. It was already during World War I and in the following decade, as part of the Department of Gynecology, that Erlangen's radiation therapy developed into an internationally renowned center. The development of radiation therapy was initiated by Rolf Sauer. All methods of radiation oncology—external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, hyperthermia, simultaneous chemotherapy, radiobiology, and onco-psychology—were to be used in a synergistic way aiming at restoring the patient's health. At this time, brachytherapy was already an integral part of the Department of Radiation Therapy: high-dose rate (HDR) and low-dose rate (LDR), followed by pulsed-dose rate (PDR) treatment in the late 1990s, and were performed in the old "Radium Department" in the rooms located in the basement of the Women's Hospital in Erlangen. The Division of Interventional Radiation Therapy at Erlangen uses four afterloading devices in clinical routine.
