From the President of the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS)
Dennis C. Shrieve
Radiosurgery has evolved over the past 50 years into a field of medicine that is neither purely radiation therapy nor surgery. The International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS) has fostered the inter-disciplinary nature of radiosurgery, mainly through the organization and sponsorship of the biennial ISRS Congress. The society membership is made up of neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and radiation physicists with interest and expertise in stereotactic radiosurgery. The congress presents a forum for exchange among international leaders in the field and younger professionals who are at the beginning of their careers. Publication of peer-reviewed articles dealing with radiosurgery has historically been through the neurosurgical or radiation oncology literature. The Journal of Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy becomes the only journal dedicated to the field of radiosurgery. More than 700 annual publications are found on Pub Med when searching the term “radiosurgery.” ISRS believes the new journal fills a need and endorses the Journal of Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy as its official journal.
Initially a purely intracranial treatment, radiosurgery has evolved to include treatments of spine, lung, liver and other anatomic sites. The research and refinement of techniques by early practitioners of radiosurgery has enabled the technology to extend outside the brain and benefit many patients without other options. Research continues and timely dissemination of information remains a priority. The Journal of Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy will provide an important forum for publication of this work.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the editors and the editorial board for the foresight and energy required to establish this new journal. As this first issue demonstrates, the field remains vibrant and continues to influence patient care. Radiosurgery is essentially multi-disciplinary, as reflected by the fields represented by the authors of the papers in this inaugural issue. I am certain that the journal will become established as a major source of the most up-to-date information related to the field.