ASTRO Journals

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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom hosts a discussion this month on the role of radiotherapy in the optimal treatment of recurrent and refractory lymphoma. Guests include Dr. Belinda Campbell, the journal’s Section Editor of lymphoma and hematologic malignancies, Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at The University of Melbourne, and Deputy Director of Radiotherapy at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. We are joined by Dr. Mario Levis, Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology from the University of Turin and first author of a paper in this month’s issue, Peri-transplant radiotherapy in refractory or relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant: long term results of a retrospective study of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi. Our other guest is Dr. Jennifer Peterson, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic Florida, who is the supervising author of another paper this month, Don’t put the CART before the horse: The role of radiation therapy in peri-CAR T-cell therapy for aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses RT before, rather than after, mastectomy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer being treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The discussion is based on a paper published in the July 2023 issue of PRO titled “Pathologic Complete Response and Oncologic Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancers Treated With Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy: An Australian Perspective" (2023, Issue 4, July/August, PMID: 36599393).

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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom and Physics Section and Executive Editor Dr. David Carlson, Professor, Vice Chair, and Director of Medical Physics at Yale University, host a discussion of current research frontiers in particle therapy. Our guests (calling in from PTCOG!) are Dr. Tracy Underwood, Senior Physicist at Leo Cancer Care and one of the supervising authors of Proposing a Clinical Model for RBE Based on Proton Track-End Counts, and Dr. Andrea Mairani, Group Leader of Biophysics at Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center and supervising author of Commissioning of Helium Ion Therapy and the First Patient Treatment With Active Beam Delivery.

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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses radiotherapy dose prescription to positive pelvic or paraaortic nodes when treating a cervix cancer patient with primary chemo-radiotherapy. The discussion is based on a paper published in the May 2023 issue of PRO titled "Management of Radiographically Positive Pelvic and/or Para-aortic Lymph Nodes During Primary Chemoradiation Therapy for Cervix Cancer" (2023, Issue 3, May/June, PMID: 35529239). In this paper, three radiation oncologists with subspecialty experience in GYN oncology summarize relevant studies and then list the dose schedules they currently use.

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Practical Radiation Oncology associate section editor Ashley Weiner, MD, PhD, of University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill hosts a conversation on the ASTRO Radiation Therapy Summary of the ASCO Guideline on Management of Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Two of the authors, Charles Simone MD, of the New York Proton Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and George Rodrigues, MD, PhD of the London Health Sciences Center and University of Western Ontario discuss the updated guidelines and review specific questions related to the management of patients with Stage III NSCLC. They focus on the key clinical questions around neoadjuvant therapy, adjuvant therapy, and definitive chemoradiotherapy for Stage III lung cancer with a thorough review of the guidelines and insights into their own clinical expertise in the multidisciplinary management of NSCLC.

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Genitourinary Section Editor Alison Tree, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, hosts a discussion this month on genomic classifiers in prostate cancer. Guests are Paul Nguyen, Vice-Chair for Clinical Research and Genitourinary Disease Center Leader at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital's Department of Radiation Oncology and first author of "Analysis of a Biopsy-Based Genomic Classifier in High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Meta-Analysis of the NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9202, 9413, and 9902 Phase 3 Randomized Trials"; Neil Desai, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and first author of "Passing the Kool-Aid Point: mRNA Expression-Based Risk Classifiers in Localized Prostate Cancer Treatment Decision Making"; and Simon Spohn, Resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University Medical Center Freiburg and first author of "Genomic Classifiers in Personalized Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy Approaches: A Systematic Review and Future Perspectives Based on International Consensus".

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Deputy Editor Dr. Curtiland Deville, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins University and ASTRO HEDI Council Vice Chair, conducts a discussion this month on diversity and inclusion in professional selection and development. Guests include Dr. Rachel Jimenez, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, President of the Association for Directors of Radiation Oncology Programs, and first author of an article in this month’s issue, "Using Holistic Residency Applicant Review and Selection in Radiation Oncology to Enhance Diversity and Inclusion-An ASTRO SCAROP-ADROP-ARRO Collaboration"; Dr. Iris Gibbs, ASTRO HEDI Council Chair, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Associate Dean of Admissions at Stanford University School of Medicine, and co-last author for this article with Dr. Deville; Dr. Sophia Kamran, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and first author on another article published this month, "Demographic Trends Among American Society for Radiation Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Task Force Participants From 2010 to 2022"; and Dr. Alvin Cabrera, Radiation Oncologist at Kaiser Permanente Washington in Seattle and Chair of the ASTRO Guidelines Subcommittee.

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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses structured formats for delivering bad news to patients. The discussion begins with an explanation of the SPIKES protocol and a recent analysis identifying five behavior practices that enhance physician communication in clinical encounters. The discussion ends with review of a paper published in the May 2023 issue of PRO titled "Serious Illness Communication Training Among Radiation Oncology Residents" (2023, Issue 3, May/June, PMID: 36526246). This paper demonstrates the use of a highly sophisticated education program involving simulated patients, didactic lectures, and independent evaluators to create a structured curriculum to teach and evaluate serious illness communication skills of radiation oncology residents.

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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom hosts a discussion this month on geospatial health disparity analysis and Spanish language equity. Guests include Associate Section Editor Dr. Sara Alcorn, Vice Chair of Clinical Strategy in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Minnesota and the supervising author of Radiotherapy Deserts: Impact of Race, Poverty and the Rural-Urban Continuum on Density of Providers and Utilization of Radiotherapy in the United States. We also host Dr. Idalid "Ivy" Franco, Director of Equity, Access, and Inclusion and Attending Physician in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Mr. Santiago Avila, fourth-year medical student at the University of Chicago, co-first authors of Spanish Adaptation and Evaluation of Clinical Discussion Guides: Communicating the External Beam Radiotherapy Experience (CEBRE) en Español. We additionally welcome Dr. Pilar Ortega, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Clinical Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and supervising author of this article.

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Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses an Editorial published in the March 2023 issue of PRO titled "Nailing the Clavicular Head: Assuring Adequate Coverage of the Medial/Inferior Aspect of the Supraclavicular Space in Patients Receiving Regional Nodal Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer" (2023, Issue 2, March/April, PMID: 36748209). This paper compares dose coverage of the nodes behind the clavicular head when elective nodal irradiation is planned with historic 2D landmarks versus contours as directed by three consensus group atlases: RTOG, ECOG, and NRG/RADCOMP. The authors suggest that all three contouring atlases have features that risk underdosing high risk nodes in the supraclavicular area. The Editorial ends with three recommendations to decrease this risk.