Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses two papers published in PRO related to the question of using a vaginal dilator during radio-chemotherapy for carcinoma of the anus: "Daily Vaginal Dilator Use During Radiation for Women With Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anus: Vaginal Wall Dosimetry and Patient-Reported Sexual Function” (2024, Volume 14, Issue 2, PMID 37898354) and “ECOG-ACRIN Guideline for Contouring and Treatment of Early Stage Anal Cancer Using IMRT/IGRT” (2022, Volume 12, Issue 4, PMID 35717050 ..read more

Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom hosts a British-American conversation about brachytherapy. Guests include Dr. Mahbuba Choudhury, Clinical Oncology Registrar and Stereotactic Radiotherapy Fellow at Imperial College London NHS Trust, and Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Clinical Lead at Southend University Hospital in the UK, first and supervising authors on this month’s paper, Timing of High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy with External Beam Radiotherapy in Intermediate and High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer Patients and Its Effects on Toxicity and Quality of Life: A Randomized Contro ..read more

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses a paper from the March 2024 issue of PRO: “Dose-Volume Predictors of Radiation Pneumonitis After Thoracic Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy” (Volume 14 Issue 2, PMID 37984711). This paper suggests V5, V20, and Mean Lung Dose values to minimize grade ≥2 pneumonitis when treating lung cancer with the moderate hypofractionation programs of 60 or 72 Gy at 4 Gy per treatment. The values they propose are lower than those stated in consensus group guidelines ..read more

Sue Yom, our Editor-in-Chief, co-hosts with Dr. Salma Jabbour, Deputy Editor at the Red Journal and Professor, Vice Chair of Clinical Research and Faculty Development, and Clinical Chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Rutgers University. Guests include Drs. Amar Kishan, Professor, Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research, and Chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service, and Minsong Cao, Professor, Vice Chair of Academic Mission Development, and Director of the Medical Physics Residency Training Program, who were supervising authors on a new study published this month, Quan ..read more

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses using molecular markers to make decisions about adjuvant radiotherapy for Endometrial Cancer. The main references for the podcast are the PROshot article in the January 2024 issue of PRO (2024, Issue 1, January/February) and a Topic Discussion paper currently published online ahead of print with title “Path to Precision: Refining Radiation Therapy Guidelines for Early-Stage Endometrial Cancer Through Incorporation of Primary Tumor Size, Lower Uterine Segment Invasion, and Molecular Markers” (PMID 38048989 ..read more

Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom co-hosts with Dr. Thomas Zilli, Associate Editor at the Red Journal and Professor and Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland. Dr. Zilli was co author on Prostate Bed Delineation Guidelines for Postoperative Radiation Therapy: On Behalf Of The Francophone Group of Urological Radiation Therapy, published in the April 2021 issue of the Red Journal. Guests include Dr. Alan Dal Pra, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami ..read more

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 ..read more

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 Ster ..read more

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 Meeti ..read more

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. Laura 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 ..read more