ASTRO Journals Various

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.