Award of Excellence and Innovation in IR

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We have a winner! Congratulations!

The Award of Excellence and Innovation in Interventional Radiology, sponsored by the Rolf W. Günther Foundation for Radiological Sciences, is awarded on a yearly basis for outstanding contributions to the advancement of interventional radiology. Since its establishment in 2012, this distinction has been granted to some of the most innovative physicians in the field. The recipient of the award will receive a certificate of merit as well as a cash prize of €6,000.

This year, the honour will go to Prof. Martijn R. Meijerink for his work on the “Thermal ablation versus surgical resection of small-size colorectal liver metastases (COLLISION): an international, randomised, controlled, phase 3 non-inferiority trial”.  He will receive the award during the CIRSE Annual Congress in Copenhagen.

The innovation

Prof. Meijerink has been selected for this award based on his outstanding contribution to the field of Interventional Oncoloy (IO) and, in particular, the clinical and societal impact of the recently published COLLISION trial.

This international, multicenter randomized phase III study compared thermal ablation with surgical resection for colorectal liver metastases ≤3 cm in size and demonstrated that ablation is non-inferior to surgical resection in terms of overall survival, while offering important advantages in safety, recovery, and resource utilization. The results demonstrated that patients treated with thermal ablation experienced substantially fewer complications than those undergoing surgery, with complication rates of 19% versus 46%, as well as significantly shorter hospital stays.

Beyond its clinical outcomes, COLLISION has strong societal relevance. By offering a less invasive yet equally effective treatment option, thermal ablation expands access to potentially curative treatment for elderly patients and those with comorbidities who may not be suitable candidates for major surgery. Hence, the trial supports a significant and sustainable model of oncologic care.

As the first large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) prospectively comparing thermal ablation with surgery for small-size colorectal liver metastases, COLLISION has set a new benchmark in IO. Its multidisciplinary design, bringing together interventional radiologists, surgeons and oncologists across 14 centres and three countries, also provides a model for future collaborative research.

Under Professor Meijerink’s leadership, COLLISION has catalysed a wider programme of innovative studies aimed at refining and expanding minimally invasive cancer treatment, reinforcing his sustained contribution to evidence-based, patient-centred interventional oncology.

About the winner

Martijn R. Meijerink, MD, PhD, is Full Professor of Interventional Oncology at Amsterdam UMC and a leading interventional radiologist with extensive clinical, research, educational and leadership experience. Since completing radiology training and an interventional radiology fellowship at the VU University Medical Center (VUmc) Amsterdam, he has focused on image-guided cancer therapies, including thermal ablation and irreversible electroporation. He founded and chairs the VUmc Research Center for Image-Guided Tumor Ablation, and has led major collaborative studies including PANFIRE, COLDFIRE and COLLISION. He has supervised numerous PhD candidates, secured substantial research funding, introduced innovative treatments into clinical practice and contributed extensively to international scientific meetings and peer-reviewed literature. His professional leadership includes roles within CIRSE, the Dutch Interventional Radiology Society and the Society of Interventional Oncology. He is currently the Scientific Programme Committee Deputy Chairperson for the European Conference on Interventional Oncology.

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Past winners

CIRSE would like to warmly thank the R.W. Günther Foundation for funding the award.