[The dawn of radiotherapy, between strokes of genius, dramas and controversies]

Abstract

Radiotherapy is 120 years old. A few months only after the discoveries of Roentgen, Becquerel and Marie and Pierre Curie, a few scientists tried to use the newly discovered rays to treat patients. The question of the name of the first "radiation therapist" remains debated. Although often proposed, Emil Grubbé from Chicago seems to have been disqualified. Leopold Freund from Vienna treated a benign cutaneous lesion. Finally, Victor Despeignes from Lyon appears to be the most serious candidate, having treated in 1896 a gastric cancer, and obtaining a very significant tumour regression. The pioneers of radiotherapy paid a heavy tribute to the development of the specialty; a number of them appears on the - most probably incomplete - list of 352 names engraved on the monument dedicated to the "radiation martyrs" in Hamburg. We must keep in mind that it is only within a few years that a handful of brilliant pioneers built the foundations on which radiotherapy could emerge.

Keywords: Histoire de la radiothérapie; Pionniers de la radiothérapie; Radiotherapy history; Radiotherapy pioneers.