January 7, 2009 - ASTRO is changing its name to the American Society for Radiation Oncology after being known as the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology for 26 years.
ASTRO said it will also unveiled a new logo that will keep the acronym ASTRO by having the "T" represent ASTRO's tagline, "Targeting Cancer Care."
"Today, most departments and practices use the term 'radiation oncology' to represent the hard work they do using radiation therapy to treat and cure patients with cancer," Laura I. Thevenot, ASTRO's chief executive officer, said. "Over the past few decades the term 'therapeutic radiology' has become outdated and confusing as radiation oncology has evolved into a specialty very separate from its origins in diagnostic radiology. ASTRO’s new name will better correlate with the term that our members are using in their own practices to communicate with patients and better reflect who we are as a specialty."
This is the fourth time the Society has changed its name since it was established as the American Club of Therapeutic Radiologists in 1958.
For more information: www.astro.org
January 30, 2026 
