Astro Journals

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses three Practice Pearls from the most recent PROshot article: Adjuvant radiation halves the rate of ipsilateral breast recurrences at 10 and 15 years with minimal late toxicity in women with good-risk ductal carcinoma in situ; women with early-stage vulvar cancer and sentinel lymph node micrometastases (≤2 mm) can safely forgo ipsilateral completion lymph node dissection to reduce morbidity, but those with macrometastases cannot; and prophylactic cranial irradiation using hippocampal avoidance for SCLC helps preserve short-term memory.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses a topic featured in the November/December issue of PRO, radiation therapy for femur metastases. Two letters in the issue (Recht et al. and Tseng et al.) debate the appropriate treatment regimen for radiation therapy to the intact femur. Dr. Amdur also references an editorial by Tseng et al., previously published in PRO, summarizing a clinical practice guideline for treatment of metastatic disease of the femur from the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: Personal reflections on life and Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses an article from the September/October issue of PRO, “Sparing the Larynx and Hypopharynx with Radiotherapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site and Predominant Adenopathy in Level IIA” and gives his five principles for deciding which mucosal sites to treat with an unknown primary.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on the recently published paper "Practice Consolidation Among U.S. Radiation Oncologists Over Time." Authors of the paper, Dr. Michael Milligan, MD, MBA, and Miranda Lam, MD, MBA, both of Harvard Medical School, explain the method they used to calculate practice consolidation in radiation oncology, how it compares to other specialties, and the possible reasons behind consolidation. The authors also discuss how consolidation impacts patient outcomes, and what the future of radiation oncology could look like if practice consolidation continues.

Practical Radiation Oncology executive editor Julia White, MD, hosts a conversation on the use of accelerated treatment schedules for post-lumpectomy breast cancer patients. Dr. White is joined by Melissa Mitchell, MD, PhD of MD Anderson Cancer Center and Frank Vicini, MD, of GenesisCare. Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Vicini discuss the frequency and criteria for use of accelerated treatment in their practices, the available data regarding efficacy, toxicity, and cosmesis outcomes, how these treatments align with ASTRO guidelines, and what they think the future may hold for accelerated fractionation schedules.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, introduces the first PROshot article and highlights two topic discussions from the September/October issue of PRO focused on medical marijuana, Medical Marijuana for Cancer: Perspective from a Radiation Oncologist Credentialed to Certify in Pennsylvania and Medical Cannabis to Treat Symptoms from Head and Neck Radiotherapy

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on the recently published consensus statement from the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group Breast Cancer Subcommittee. Dr. Robert Mutter, MD, of the Mayo Clinic and first author of the consensus statement discusses the benefits and risks of proton therapy treatment for breast cancer, the evidence behind the subcommittee’s findings, and the possible role proton therapy may play in the treatment of common cancers as more data becomes available.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: Cardiac matters.

Practical Radiation Oncology executive editor Jeff Michalski, MD, hosts a conversation on the recently published ASTRO clinical practice guideline on radiation therapy for soft tissue sarcoma. Two of the authors of the guideline, Ashleigh Guadagnolo, MD, MPH of MD Anderson Cancer Center and Kilian Salerno, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, discuss the development process of the guideline and the evidence for the recommendations included. Matthew Spraker, MD, PhD of Washington University in St. Louis leads the discussion, asking the authors of the guideline about the use of bolus, pre-operative vs. post-operative radiation therapy, and the importance of multi-disciplinary collaborative decision making.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: Irradiation for COVID pneumonia (again), and some practical breast cancer issues.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses the future of automated treatment planning and features an article from the May/June issue of PRO.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: Supportive care for cancers patients and the RBE of proton beam.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: SBRT for oligometastases, and treatment of the elderly with bladder cancer.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses the role of radiation oncology in the recently published prostate cancer guidelines and how to handle disagreements with colleagues when making decisions in a group setting.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses three non-technical papers published in the May issue of Practical Radiation Oncology including the first of a new article type, Lessons from Art and Literature.

The latest podcast by Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: SBRT for bone metastases, and treatment of the elderly with bladder cancer.

Practical Radiation Oncology Senior Editor Majid Al Othman, MD, hosts a discussion on the ASTRO clinical practice guideline for basal and squamous cell cancers of the skin. Anna Likhacheva, MD, with the Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento and Christopher Barker, MD of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center join Dr. Al Othman for this episode to discuss when radiation therapy is appropriate for treatment of skin cancers, the differences in recommendations for basal vs squamous cell cancers, and the use of other modalities in addition to radiation therapy. Dr. Likhacheva and Dr. Barker are both authors on the guideline.

In this episode of the Red Journal podcast, Anthony Zietman, MD, Editor in Chief interviews members of the HyTEC steering committee: Jimm Grimm, PhD, Larry Marks, MD, Ellen Yorke, PhD, and Andrew Jackson, PhD. The panelists discuss the origins of HyTEC, the approach used to develop their reports, how the team integrated models and clinical data, and what projects following HyTEC might look like. The HyTEC special issue of the Red Journal is available now online at redjournal.org.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, introduces the first of another new article type being published in PRO: Morbidity and Mortality Conferences. The featured piece is "Early Stage Pregnancy During Radiation Therapy to the Breast."