ASTRO Journals

Editor in Chief Sue Yom hosts four of our artists – Jen Bellon, our journal's Art Editor, who was previously at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham & Women's Hospital, and now works as an independent art consultant; Annie Lavigne, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins University; Josh No, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente; and Tony Orlina, Lead Dosimetrist at Dana Farber Cancer Center. They discuss the role of art in their lives, stories of their Red Journal cover artworks, and what they see as the role of art in medicine.

Editor in Chief Dr. Sue Yom hosts a discussion on the role of radiation for gallbladder cancer, as it is managed in India versus the U.S. Guests are Section Editor Dr. Michael Chuong, Vice Chair and Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Miami Cancer Institute, and Dr. Sushma Agrawal, Professor from the Department of Radiotherapy at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lacknow, India, RACE-GB Principal Investigator, and first author of the primary trial report, A Randomized Study of Consolidation Chemoradiotherapy Versus Observation After First-line Chemotherapy in Advanced Gallbladder Cancers: RACE-GB Study.

In this episode of the PRO podcast, join host Michael Buckstein, MD, PhD, as he sits down with Jennifer Wo, MD and Ann Raldow, MD, MPH to discuss the latest updates to the ASTRO Rectal Cancer Guidelines. In this episode, they break down key recommendations, the evolving role of radiation in rectal cancer management, and how these guidelines impact clinical decision-making. Tune in for expert insights on the latest evidence, practical applications, and what these updates mean for patient care.

Dr. Sue Yom, Editor in Chief, co-hosts with Dr. Lachlan McDowell, Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland, Australia and our journal's Head and Neck Cancer Section Editor. Guests are Dr. Sean McBride, Radiation Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Chief of External Beam Radiotherapy at the Manhattan site, who authored an editorial, Oligometastatic HNSCC: Is SABR the Solution?, and Dr. Juliette Thariat, Professor in Radiation Oncology at Cancer Center Baclesse in Normandy, France, Secrétaire Nationale at the GORTEC, and first author of our featured article, Survival Without Quality of Life Deterioration in the GORTEC 2014-04 "OMET" Randomized Phase 2 Trial in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer with Oligometastases using Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy (SABR) alone or Chemotherapy and SABR.

In this PRO podcast, Bisham Chera MD, FASTRO, Danielle Margalit, MD, MPH, and David Sher, MD, discuss the recently published ASTRO clinical practice guideline of Radiation Therapy for HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This manuscript was published in print in the September/October 2024 issue and was the 3rd most downloaded PRO article in 2024. Listen for their lively and meaningful discussion of the key recommendations and controversies.

Dr. Sue Yom, Editor in Chief, hosts Dr. Kristin Hsieh, radiation oncology resident at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and member of the SWRO mentorship committee; Dr. Crystal Seldon Taswell, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami and past Chair of SWRO; Dr. Jennifer Croke, radiation oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Center and Associate Professor and Director of Fellowship at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Reshma Jagsi, the Lawrence W. Davis Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at at Emory University. All were co-authors on this month's featured publication, A 5-Year, Multi-Institutional Mentorship Program in Radiation Oncology: The Society for Women in Radiation Oncology Experience.

Our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom co-hosts with Dr. Henning Willers, our journal's Biology Section Editor and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Guests are Dr. Simon Powell, Chair of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Department of Radiation Oncology, who joins us as the co-last author of a new publication, Increased synthetic cytotoxicity of combinatorial chemoradiotherapy in homologous recombination deficient tumors, and Dr. Kerstin Borkmann, Professor of Radiobiology at the University Clinic Hamburg Eppendorf and Biology Associate Editor for our journal. She is the co-author of the accompanying editorial, BRCAness identifies synthetic cytotoxicity between cisplatin and RT.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD explains a relatively new form of narrative writing called the Micro-Story, which is a subset of the writing genre called Flash Fiction. The presentation is based on two papers published in the January/February 2025 issue of PRO (2025, Issue 1, January/February). One paper is the first Micro-Story ever published in PRO with title: "The Black Car (Children Playing)." The second paper is an accompanying Editorial titled "Flash and FLASH: In Short, an Imaginary Bridge."

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD explains a relatively new form of narrative writing called the Micro-Story, which is a subset of the writing genre called Flash Fiction. The presentation is based on two papers published in the January/February 2025 issue of PRO (2025, Issue 1, January/February). One paper is the first Micro-Story ever published in PRO with title: "The Black Car (Children Playing)." The second paper is an accompanying Editorial titled "Flash and FLASH: In Short, an Imaginary Bridge."

Dr. Sue Yom, Editor in Chief, hosts guests Dr. Cristian Udovicich, a Fellow in Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto's Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, and Dr. Angela Jia, Assistant Professor and Assistant Residency Program Director at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, who were the first and second authors of "Evolving Paradigms in Prostate Cancer: The Integral Role of Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Primary Staging and Therapeutic Decision-Making." In addition, we review long-term SBRT results with Dr. Andrew Loblaw, Full Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at Sunnybrook Health Science Center at the University of Toronto and supervising author of "Stereotactic Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: 10-Year Outcomes From Three Prospective Trials," and Dr. Constantinos Zamboglou, Deputy Medical Director at the German Oncology Center in Limassol, Cyprus and first author of an accompanying editorial, "Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer is Getting Mature: 10-Year Outcomes From Three Prospective Trials."

This podcast discussed the topic of "Improving consistency and reducing human bias for physicians' target contouring using AI auto-segmentation." Experts joining the discussion include Steve Jiang, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair in Department of Radiation Oncology at University of Texas Southwestern and Director of Medical Artificial Intelligence and Automation Lab, Nathan Yu, MD, Assistant Professor in Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, and Yi Rong, PhD, Professor and Lead photon physicist in Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic Arizona. This podcast focused on the utility of AI in automatic segmentation of medical imaging and the challenges related to physician variability in clinical practice. We discussed various strategies for addressing these challenges, including developing physician-style aware AI models and balancing standardization with personalization in AI tool development and deployment. The emphasis is on the feasibility and clinical utility of using AI to improve the accuracy and efficiency of medical image segmentation while respecting the art and personalization inherent in clinical medicine.

This podcast discussed the topic of "Improving consistency and reducing human bias for physicians' target contouring using AI auto-segmentation." Experts joining the discussion include Steve Jiang, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair in Department of Radiation Oncology at University of Texas Southwestern and Director of Medical Artificial Intelligence and Automation Lab, Nathan Yu, MD, Assistant Professor in Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, and Yi Rong, PhD, Professor and Lead photon physicist in Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic Arizona. This podcast focused on the utility of AI in automatic segmentation of medical imaging and the challenges related to physician variability in clinical practice. We discussed various strategies for addressing these challenges, including developing physician-style aware AI models and balancing standardization with personalization in AI tool development and deployment. The emphasis is on the feasibility and clinical utility of using AI to improve the accuracy and efficiency of medical image segmentation while respecting the art and personalization inherent in clinical medicine.

Editor in Chief Dr. Sue Yom and Associate Editor Dr. Neil Taunk, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology and Chief of the Gynecologic Radiation Service at the University of Pennsylvania, co-host a podcast on "Biomarker expression and impact on clinical outcomes in an international study of chemoradiation and MRI-based image-guided brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer: BIOEMBRACE," with guests Dr. Supriya Chopra, Professor at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, India, and Dr. Remi Nout, Professor and Head of the Department of Radiotherapy of the Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, who were the first and last authors and both principal investigators of the BIOEMBRACE study.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD and Resident Physician, Daniela Martir, MD discuss Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Unresectable Tumor. The discussion is based on a paper in PRO titled “Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy (PABR): A Widely Applicable Planning Technique for Palliation of Locally Advanced Unresectable Tumors” (PMID 39393770).

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD and Resident Physician, Daniela Martir, MD discuss Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Unresectable Tumor. The discussion is based on a paper in PRO titled “Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy (PABR): A Widely Applicable Planning Technique for Palliation of Locally Advanced Unresectable Tumors” (PMID 39393770).

Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom hosts Dr. Mai Anh Huynh, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital / Dana-Farber Cancer Center who wrote an editorial this month, "The Hidden Benefits of Palliative Radiotherapy: When Radiation of Metastatic Disease is Not "Just" Palliative," Dr. David Palma, a Radiation Oncologist at the London Health Sciences Centre who co-authored, "Ablative Radiation Therapy to Restrain Everything Safely Treatable (ARREST): A Phase I Study of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Poly-metastatic Disease", and Dr. Ethan Ludmir, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology and Biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and supervising author of "Off-Protocol Radiotherapy in Phase III Metastatic Solid Tumor Trials." The group also discusses an article from this month's issue, "Is Local Ablative Stereotactic Radiation Therapy a Valuable Rescue Strategy for Time on Drug in Patients Enrolled in Phase I Trials?"

In this podcast, we discuss the The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American Society for Radiation Oncology Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines on Multimodality Therapy for Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction. Joining in the discussion are Dr. Stephanie Worrell, Associate Professor and Thoracic Section Chief in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Dr. Karyn Goodman, Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Quality at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Associate Director for Clinical Research at The Tisch Cancer Institute, who served as chair and co-chair of the guideline panel, respectively. Together, we cover important updates and recommendations that incorporate surgical aspects into the multi-disciplinary management of this disease along with practical considerations for everyday practice. Additionally, we discuss in depth the recently presented ESOPEC trial presented at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting and how it has impacted the standard of care for esophageal cancers.

In this podcast, we discuss the The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American Society for Radiation Oncology Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines on Multimodality Therapy for Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction. Joining in the discussion are Dr. Stephanie Worrell, Associate Professor and Thoracic Section Chief in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Dr. Karyn Goodman, Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Quality at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Associate Director for Clinical Research at The Tisch Cancer Institute, who served as chair and co-chair of the guideline panel, respectively. Together, we cover important updates and recommendations that incorporate surgical aspects into the multi-disciplinary management of this disease along with practical considerations for everyday practice. Additionally, we discuss in depth the recently presented ESOPEC trial presented at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting and how it has impacted the standard of care for esophageal cancers.

In this podcast, we discuss the The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American Society for Radiation Oncology Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines on Multimodality Therapy for Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction. Joining in the discussion are Dr. Stephanie Worrell, Associate Professor and Thoracic Section Chief in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Dr. Karyn Goodman, Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Quality at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Associate Director for Clinical Research at The Tisch Cancer Institute, who served as chair and co-chair of the guideline panel, respectively. Together, we cover important updates and recommendations that incorporate surgical aspects into the multi-disciplinary management of this disease along with practical considerations for everyday practice. Additionally, we discuss in depth the recently presented ESOPEC trial presented at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting and how it has impacted the standard of care for esophageal cancers.

In this podcast, we discuss the The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American Society for Radiation Oncology Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines on Multimodality Therapy for Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction. Joining in the discussion are Dr. Stephanie Worrell, Associate Professor and Thoracic Section Chief in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Dr. Karyn Goodman, Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Quality at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Associate Director for Clinical Research at The Tisch Cancer Institute, who served as chair and co-chair of the guideline panel, respectively. Together, we cover important updates and recommendations that incorporate surgical aspects into the multi-disciplinary management of this disease along with practical considerations for everyday practice. Additionally, we discuss in depth the recently presented ESOPEC trial presented at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting and how it has impacted the standard of care for esophageal cancers.

Deputy Editor Salma Jabbour hosts Dr. Christopher Anker, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Program Co-Leader in the Cancer Host and Environment program at the University of Vermont Cancer Center, and Dr. Leila Tchelebi, Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, respectively the first and second authors of a guideline published in this issue, Executive Summary of the American Radium Society Appropriate Use Criteria for Non-Operative Management for Rectal Adenocarcinoma: Systematic Review and Guidelines

Editor in Chief Dr. Sue Yom co-hosts with Dr. Nicholas Zaorsky, an Associate Editor at the Journal and Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Case Western University Hospitals. We discuss three articles that are publishing rapid online for this meeting including Bladder Adjuvant RadioTherapy (BART): Acute and Late Toxicity from a Phase III Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial, with the Principal Investigator Dr. Vedang Murthy, Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, and its accompanying editorial, Adjuvant Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer: A Safe and Promising  Emerging Treatment Option, with first author Dr. Brian Baumann, Radiation Oncologist at Springfield Clinic in Illinois. Relevant to this discussion is a paper appearing in this month's issue, The Value and Safety of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy After Radical Cystectomy in Locally Advanced Urothelial Bladder Cancer: A Controlled Randomized Study and its accompanying editorial, Is It Time to Reconsider the Place of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy After Radical Cystectomy? Finally, our third rapid online paper is Setting the Stage: Feasibility and Baseline Characteristics in the Prostate Advanced Radiation Technologies Investigating Quality of Life (PARTIQoL) Trial Comparing Proton Therapy vs. IMRT for Localized Prostate Cancer, with Principal Investigator Dr. Jason Efstathiou, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Sue Yom, Editor in Chief, hosts Ms. Nina Levin, a Medical Physicist and PhD Candidate and Dr. Bjørn Grønberg, Professor and Consultant in medical oncology and radiotherapy, from the Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Dr. Megan Daly, Professor from the University of California Davis and an Associate Editor at our journal. We discuss Ms. Levin's and Dr. Grønberg's article, Evaluation of radiotherapy treatment plans in a randomized phase II trial comparing two schedules of twice-daily thoracic radiotherapy in limited stage small-cell lung cancer, and its accompanying editorial, Toward the Optimal Delivery of Twice-Daily Thoracic Chemoradiation in Limited-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer, as well as an article from the August 2024 issue, Long-Term Outcomes After Concurrent Once- or Twice-Daily Chemoradiation in Limited-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Brief Report From the CONVERT Trial.

Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, FASTRO, hosts a conversation on the background, methodology, primary recommendations, and implications of the updated External Beam Radiation Therapy for Palliation of Symptomatic Bone Metastases: An ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline. Alongside Tracy Balboni, MD, MPH, and Sara Alcorn, MD, they discuss recent data and changes to practice patterns such as increased use of advanced treatment approaches (e.g., stereotactic radiation) and reirradiation. The guidelines address five key questions in this context, built upon a systematic review of the available literature and with assessment of evidence quality and recommendation strength.

Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, FASTRO, hosts a conversation on the background, methodology, primary recommendations, and implications of the updated External Beam Radiation Therapy for Palliation of Symptomatic Bone Metastases: An ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline. Alongside Tracy Balboni, MD, MPH, and Sara Alcorn, MD, they discuss recent data and changes to practice patterns such as increased use of advanced treatment approaches (e.g., stereotactic radiation) and reirradiation. The guidelines address five key questions in this context, built upon a systematic review of the available literature and with assessment of evidence quality and recommendation strength.

Our Editor in Chief Sue Yom hosts a discussion of two related articles, "Diagnostic CT-Enabled Planning (DART): Results of a Randomized Trial in Palliative Radiation Therapy" and its accompanying editorial, "'Sim-free' Palliative Radiation Therapy Greatly Reduces Time Burden for Patients." Guests are Melissa O'Neil, MSc, MRT(T), an Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist and Leader of the Rapid Response Clinic at London Health Sciences Center in Canada, who was the first author of the DART trial publication, as well as Dr. Katrina Woodford, Lead Radiation Therapist Clinician Scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University, and first author of the accompanying editorial.

Practical Radiation Oncology associate editor Laura Dover, MD, MSPH of Birmingham, Alabama hosts a conversation on the recent past, the realized present and the aspirational future of the American Board of Radiology (ABR) certifying exams for Radiation Oncology. Her guests are the Radiation Oncology Associate Executive Director at the ABR Michael Yunes, MD and the Director of Communications for the ABR David Laszakovits, MBA.

Practical Radiation Oncology associate editor Laura Dover, MD, MSPH of Birmingham, Alabama hosts a conversation on the recent past, the realized present and the aspirational future of the American Board of Radiology (ABR) certifying exams for Radiation Oncology. Her guests are the Radiation Oncology Associate Executive Director at the ABR Michael Yunes, MD and the Director of Communications for the ABR David Laszakovits, MBA.

Sue Yom, our Editor in Chief, hosts a discussion of two related articles, Temporal Evolution and Diagnostic Diversification of Patients Receiving Proton Therapy in the United States: A Ten-Year Trend Analysis (2012-21) from the National Association for Proton Therapy and Improving Access to Proton Therapy in the United States and Around the World, from the July 15, 2024 issue. Guests are first authors Dr. William Hartsell, former Medical Director of the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center, now practicing in the Advocate and Alexian systems in the Chicago area, and Dr. Derek Tsang, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and Clinician Investigator in the Radiation Medicine Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses lymph node management in patients with vulvar cancer. The foundation for this discussion is a paper published in the May 2024 issue of PRO titled "Navigating the Complexities of Lymph Node Management in Vulvar Cancer: Insights and Perspectives." (2024, Issue 3, May/June, PMID: 38336276). This paper is a Topic Discussion that summarizes key studies and then explains the authors current policy regarding radiotherapy to the regional lymphatics in operable and inoperable cases.Related articlesContouring Inguinal and Femoral Nodes; How Much Margin is Needed Around the Vessels?Consensus Recommendations for Radiation Therapy Contouring and Treatment of Vulvar Carcinoma

Editor in Chief Sue Yom hosts a discussion of An Economic Analysis of SC.24: A Randomized Study of SBRT Compared with Conventional Palliative RT for Spinal Metastases. Guests are first and second author Dr. Marc Kerba, clinical associate professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary and radiation oncologist at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and Dr. Richard De Abreu Lourenco, Professor with the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at the University of Technology Sydney.

Practical Radiation Oncology associate editor Majid Al-Othman, MD, of Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare hosts a conversation on Summary of Cardiac Computed Tomographic Imaging in Cardio-Oncology: An Expert Consensus Document of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. Two of the authors, Sarah A. Milgrom, MD, of University of Colorado and Jean L. Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins University to highlight the practical aspects of the paper for clinicians and recommendations that are relevant to radiation oncology.

Sue Yom, our Editor in Chief, leads a discussion of Overview and Recommendations for Prospective Multi-institutional Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy Clinical Trials, a critical review from AAPM and NRG Oncology. Guests are first author Dr. Heng Li, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and Chief Proton Physicist of the Johns Hopkins National Proton Center, supervising author Dr. Stanley Benedict, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California Davis, and co-author Dr. Nina Mayr, Professor in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses using SBRT dose schedules to re-irradiate large volume recurrences of locally advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer that has progressed following high-dose radiotherapy with conventional fractionation. The discussion is based on a paper published in the May 2024 issue of PRO titled "Thoracic Reirradiation with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Recurrent Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)” (2024, Issue 3, May/June, PMID 38387781).

Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom hosts Dr. Ralph Ermoian, Associate Professor from the University of Washington and Dr. Kilian Salerno, Associate Research Physician from the National Cancer Institute, our two successive Pediatric/Sarcoma Section Editors who supervised the PEdiatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) peer review process for our journal. We also welcome two representatives from the PENTEC group, Dr. Louis Constine, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics and Vice Chair in Radiation Oncology from the University of Rochester and Dr. Soren Bentzen, Professor and Division Director of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland. We discuss several papers from this landmark 12-year effort, including Comparison of Risks of Late Effects from Radiotherapy in Children versus Adults: Insights from the QUANTEC, HyTEC and PENTEC Efforts; Neurocognitive Effects and Necrosis in Childhood Cancer Survivors Treated with Radiotherapy: A PENTEC Comprehensive Review; Risks of Spinal Abnormalities and Growth Impairment After Radiation to the Spine in Childhood Cancer Survivors: A PENTEC Comprehensive Review; and Risk of Subsequent Neoplasms in Childhood Cancer Survivors after Radiation Therapy: A Comprehensive PENTEC Review.

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).

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 Controlled Trial, as well as Dr. Akila Viswanathan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, supervising author of two papers publishing together this month, Updated Trends in the Utilization of Brachytherapy in Cervical Cancer in the U.S.: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results Study and Updated Trends in Brachytherapy Utilization and Disparities in the United States from 2004 to 2020.

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.

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, Quantifying Intrafraction Motion and the Impact of Gating for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Stereotactic Radiation therapy for Prostate Cancer: Analysis of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Arm From the MIRAGE Phase 3 Randomized Trial. We also welcome Dr. Lauren Henke, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Director of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology at the University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, who authored an editorial this month entitled Undoing the Layers: Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Advanced Image Guidance and Adaptive Radiation Therapy.

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).

Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom hosts Dr. Lachlan McDowell, a consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the first author of a new paper this month, "A longitudinal study evaluating sexual health outcomes and prioritization in patients undergoing chemoradiation for human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer," Dr. Jie Deng, Professor of Nursing, Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and Faculty Director of the Laboratory of Innovative & Translational Nursing Research at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Barbara Murphy, Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Oncology Division Director, and Director of the Pain and Symptom Management Oncology Services at Vanderbilt University. Drs. Deng and Murphy were the first and last authors on a second paper this month, Longitudinal Pattern of Lymphedema and Fibrosis in Patients with Oral Cavity or Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Prospective Study.

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, who first authored the ESTRO ACROP 2023 guideline and with colleagues at UCLA has worked on patterns of prostate bed recurrence on PSMA-PET in relation to the RTOG guidelines, as well as Dr. Floor Staal, PhD candidate at the University of Groningen, who is focused on the study of salvage radiotherapy treatment and is coordinator of the PSMA-PET Guided Hypofractionated Salvage Prostate Bed Radiotherapy (or PERYTON) trial. She first authored an article publishing this month, PSMA PET/CT based clinical target volume delineation guideline for postprostatectomy salvage radiation therapy: the PERYTON-Guideline.

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.

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, Utility of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Establishing Local Control for Invasive Breast Cancer Patients Not Undergoing Definitive Surgery.

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).

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 when implementing this technologically.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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."