Karl-Axel Hartmann — Prof., Dr. med., oncologist and radiation oncologist

Professor Dr. med. Karl-Axel Hartmann, a leading specialist in radiotherapy is included in the list of leading doctors in Germany in the annual survey by FOCUS magazine.

Professor Dr. med., Head of the Clinic for Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology. Named a leading doctor in Germany for radiotherapy by FOCUS 2025.

Professional memberships

  • Chair of the board of the German Society for Radiation Oncology.
  • Active member of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO).
  • Member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).
  • German Society for Radiation Oncology.
  • Professional association of German radiotherapy specialists.
  • German Cancer Society.
  • Head of the North Rhine-Westphalia Medical Association department responsible for compliance with radiation protection standards.

Scientific awards and key research

  • AGA HBO Award, 1999.
  • Hans Langendorff Award (2001) for “Gene Therapy Using a Dominant-Negative EGFR Mutant Increases Radiosensitivity in Glioblastoma and Breast Cancer”; co-authors G. Lammering, T. Hewit, W. Hawkins, K. Valerie, P.S. Lin, G. Schmitt and R. Schmidt-Ullrich.
  • Theragnostik Medizintechnik Poster Award (2001) for research on remission rates and breast-conserving treatment outcomes: preoperative chemotherapy versus combined chemoradiotherapy; co-authors B. Gerlach, R. Rohn, G. Schmitt, P. Dimmerling, W. Audretsch, F. Gogolin, T. Königshausen and R. Willers.
  • Dr. M. Scheel Foundation cancer research grants: 1996–1998, Amsterdam, studies of tumour oxygenation in rat R1H rhabdomyosarcoma; 2000–2001, Amsterdam, studies of human glioma cell lines, genetic changes and sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
  • Funding in 2001 for a research assistant at the Hyperbaric Oxygenation Centre of the University of Düsseldorf, supported by the parents’ initiative at the paediatric oncology clinic.
  • Co-funding with the interdisciplinary breast centre at Düsseldorf-Gerresheim Hospital for a prospective randomised multifactorial study optimising paclitaxel and epirubicin therapy in patients with primary breast cancer partially or completely inoperable for anatomical and/or oncological reasons.

Congresses and conferences

  • 7th German Congress of Radiation Oncology, Radiobiology and Medical Physics, Hamburg.
  • 23rd International Congress of the International Association for Breast Cancer Research, Düsseldorf.
  • 5th German Congress of Radiation Oncology, Radiobiology and Medical Physics, Karlsruhe.
  • Hyperbaric oxygenation in radiotherapy: the role of respiratory hyperoxia, Düsseldorf.