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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses the issues related to using a rectal spacer with prostate radiotherapy that is both radiopaque and viscous. The foundation of the discussion is a paper published in the 2024 January/February issue of PRO: “Application of a Radiopaque Viscous Hydrogel Spacer for Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Phase 2 Study” with PMID 37791943. A related paper “Barrigel Spacer Injection Technique” with PMID 37657504 was also published in the issue of PRO.

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Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom co-hosts with Dr. Jose Bazan, Red Journal Associate Editor and Associate Professor and Director of Breast Radiation Oncology and Radiation Oncology Quality and Safety at City of Hope. Dr. Bazan first authored an editorial this month, Surgical De-Escalation in Breast Cancer: Qualitative Research Introduces Hope for Patients and Illuminates a Blind Spot within Blinded Studies. Guests include Dr. Alexander Stessin, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology at Stony Brook University Medical Center and supervising author on the first article, Utility of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Establishing Local Control for Invasive Breast Cancer Patients Not Undergoing Definitive Surgery, as well as Dr. Simona Shaitelman, Professor of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Henry Kuerer, the Robinson Endowed Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Cancer Research and Executive Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Network Breast programs. Drs. Shaitelman and Kuerer were supervising authors on another article this month, Patient Interest in Exploring Non-Surgical Treatment Approaches for Early Stage Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study. The group also summarizes a new article from Practical Radiation Oncology, Locoregional Ablative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer Patients Unsuitable for Surgical Resection.

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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, reviews the evidence for treating Low-Intermediate Risk prostate cancer with Ultra Hypofractionated SBRT. This discussion was stimulated by a paper published in the November/December 2023 issue of PRO titled "Long-Term Outcomes of a Prospective Study on Highly Hypofractionated Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer for 3 Weeks" with PMID 37414247. However, the majority of the podcast will focus on data supporting 5 Fraction SBRT, including the most recent report from the PACE-B trial (Abstract only from the 2023 ASTRO annual Meeting).
Additional Article:
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A Radiosurgery Society Guide to the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer Illustrated by Challenging Cases

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Practical Radiation Oncology associate section editor, Sandra Meyers, PhD of University of California, San Diego, hosts a conversation on online adaptive radiotherapy, or the use of imaging to adapt radiation treatments to the anatomy observed each day. Lauren Henke, MD of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Bin Cai, PhD of UT Southwestern Medical Center discuss their clinical experience with both cone-beam CT and MR-based online adaptive radiotherapy. Benefits and challenges of online adaptive compared to conventional radiotherapy are discussed, as well as strategies for success when implementing this technologically.

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Sue Yom, Editor-in-Chief, co-hosts with Dr. Michelle Kim, Professor and Co-Chair of the Cancer Center's Neuro-Oncology Clinical Research Team at the University of Michigan, and our journal’s section lead for the CNS section. Our guests are Dr. Joshua Palmer, Associate Professor at Ohio State University and supervising author on the article, Dose/volume tolerance of the brain and predictors of radiation necrosis after three fraction radiosurgery for brain metastases: A large single-institutional analysis, and Dr. Arjun Sahgal, Chair and Professor at the Odette Cancer Centre of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and supervising author on the article, Systematic Review Informing The Management of Symptomatic Brain Radiation Necrosis after Stereotactic Radiosurgery and International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS) Recommendations.

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Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom hosts Dr. Karin Lindberg, a Clinical Oncologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the supervising author of a new paper this month, "Expanded HILUS trial - a pooled analysis of risk factors for toxicity from SBRT of central and ultra-central lung tumors," and Dr. David Palma, a Radiation Oncologist at the London Health Sciences Centre who co-authored the accompanying editorial, "Beyond the HILUS Trial: How Can We Improve the Safety of SABR for Ultra-Central Thoracic Tumors?" Dr. Palma also describes the design and findings of the new clinical trial SUNSET, which he presented in the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancer Symposium plenary session simultaneously with this podcast release.

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Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom co-hosts with Dr. Jean Wright, Breast Section Editor and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Director of the radiation oncology Breast Cancer Program at Johns Hopkins University. Joining is Dr. Juliane Hörner-Rieber, Managing Senior Physician and Associate Professor at the Department of Radiation Oncology of Heidelberg University Hospital, who was supervising author of an article published this month, "Non-inferiority of Local Control and Comparable Toxicity of Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy With Simultaneous Integrated Boost in Breast Cancer: 5-year Results of the IMRT-MC2 Phase III Trial." Also joining is is Dr. Danielle Rodin, Associate Section Editor, radiation oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, who first-authored our Oncology Scan this month, "The Internal Mammary Node Irradiation Debate in Node-Positive Breast Cancer: Case Closed."

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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, explains how radiation oncologists are using ChatGPT and other Large Language Model programs in clinical practice. The discussion is based on a paper published in the November/December 2023 issue of PRO titled "Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, and Large Language Models: Practical Suggestions for Radiation Oncologists" (2023, Issue 6, November/December, PMID: 37598727).

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Dr. Sue Yom hosts Dr. Charles "Chuck" Mayo, Professor and Director of Radiation Oncology Informatics and Analytics at the University of Michigan and first author of an article in this month's issue, Operational Ontology for Oncology (O3) – A Professional Society-Based, Multi-Stakeholder, Consensus-Driven Informatics Standard Supporting Clinical and Research Use of "Real-World" Data from Patients Treated for Cancer, and Dr. Ying Xiao, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania and supervising author of this same article, who also issued an accompanying explanatory editorial. Our group discusses the status and potential of oncology data standardization and its practical implementation through O3.

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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom is joined this month by co-host Dr. Danielle Margalit, the Red Journal's Head and Neck Section Editor and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School. Guests are Dr. Adam Garden, Professor of Radiation Oncology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, who is the first author of an article in this month's issue, "Final Report of NRG Oncology RTOG 0022: A Phase 1/2 Study of Conformal and Intensity Modulated Radiation for Oropharyngeal Cancer"; Dr. Michelle Echevarria, Assistant Member in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and first author of another article printing this month, "Phase 1 Dose Escalation of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Concurrent Cisplatin for Reirradiation of Unresectable, Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck"; and Dr. Robert Chin, Associate Professor at UCLA Radiation Oncology and supervising author of a third article in the October issue, "High Recurrence for HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer With Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy to Gross Disease Plus Immunotherapy: Analysis From a Prospective Phase Ib/II Clinical Trial."