Astro Journals

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, reviews a paper from the March/April issue of PRO, "Implications of medical board certification practices on family planning and professional trajectory for early career female radiation oncologists." This paper presents the results of a national survey and requests changes in the structure of the ABR examinations. The paper is accompanied by a commentary by ABR trustees.

April 1, 2022 RJ podcast: Frequentist vs Bayesian statistics. Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sue Yom hosts a discussion of Bayesian statistics with Dr. David Sher, Statistics for the People Editor and Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern, and Dr. Gareth Price, Senior Lecturer in the Division of Cancer Sciences at The University of Manchester and supervising author of the new Red Journal review, "Understanding the Differences Between Bayesian and Frequentist Statistics."

Practical Radiation Oncology associate section editor Leslie Ballas, MD hosts a conversation on the use of CAR-T therapy in hematologic malignancies. Dr. Ballas is joined by Joanna Yang, MD, MPH, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Brandon Imber, MD, MA, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and John P. Plastaras, MD, PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. They provide an overview of CAR-T, how it is created and works, potential off target effects, when it is used the treatment process, and the potential immunologic benefits of adding radiation to CAR-T cell. Check out the podcast page: https://www.practicalradonc.org/content/podcast

Radiation-Induced Senescence. Dr. Sue Yom, Editor-in-Chief, hosts a discussion of radiation-induced senescence with Dr. Marjan Boerma, Radiation Biology Section Editor at the Red Journal and Professor and Director of the Division of Radiation Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Dr. Agnès François, Research Engineer in the Radiobiology of Medical Exposure Laboratory at the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, specializing in mouse models investigating the role of macrophages and bronchiolar epithelium in acute and late injury after focal lung irradiation. They discuss a paper recently published in the Red Journal, "Deciphering the Dynamic Molecular Program of Radiation-Induced Endothelial Senescence."

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, reviews a paper from the November/December issue of PRO, "A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare the Use of Conventional Dark-Ink Tattoo and Ultraviolet-Ink Tattoo for Patients Undergoing Breast Radiation Therapy." The term "Dark Ink" refers the standard tattoo that is visible on the skin in normal light conditions and permanent-meaning the tattoo remains visible for many years. The use of visible tattoos is still standard practice in many departments, but it has negative psychological effects in some patients and is difficulty to visualize in patients with very dark skin. The paper that Dr. Amdur reviews presents the results of study using tattoo ink that is only visible with Ultraviolet light. The tattoo material used in the study is widely available, inexpensive and easy to apply. Check out the podcast page: https://www.practicalradonc.org/content/podcast

Editor-in-Chief, Robert Amdur, MD, discusses a topic featured in the January/February issue of PRO, the scope of practice in radiation oncology. Dr. Amdur provides an overview of the key points from ASTRO’s 2002 SCOPE Report and compares it to the current report. An example of lifelong management of patients is provided in “Caring for the Whole Patient After Breast Cancer Therapy: A Survivorship Guide for Radiation Oncologists.” Additional articles referenced include "Potential Financial Implications of Substituting Cognitive Medicine for Technical Radiation Oncology Billing Services" and "Diversifying for Growth or Longing for Yesterday." Check out the podcast page: https://www.practicalradonc.org/content/podcast

The latest podcast by Sue Yom, MD, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics focuses on: health services research and breast cancer hypofractionation.

Practical Radiation Oncology section editor Daniel T. Chang, MD, hosts a conversation on the recently published ASTRO clinical practice guideline on external beam radiation therapy for primary liver cancers. Two of the guideline authors, Smith Apisarnthanarax, MD of University of Washington and Higinia Cardenes, MD, PhD of Weill Cornell, discuss the development process of the guideline and the evidence for the recommendations included.

Our Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom hosts a discussion of national workforce surveys with Dr. Shaun Loewen, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the University of Calgary Radiation Oncology Residency Training Program and Chair of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) Human Resources Committee, and Dr. Nicola Thorp, Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Honorary Consultant at the Christie Hospital, and Medical Director of Professional Practice in Clinical Oncology at the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) in the U.K.

Incoming Editor in Chief of the Red Journal, Sue Yom, MD, PhD, hosts a podcast with Anthony Zietman, MD - his final episode as Editor in Chief. The conversation includes a discussion of the history of the journal, changes in scientific publishing, and memorable moments from Dr. Zietman's tenure.

Dr. Sue Yom introduces new initiatives for the Red Journal under her editorship and discusses the origins, establishment, and future potential of stereotactic radiotherapy with Dr. Robert Timmerman.

Practical Radiation Oncology executive editor Sanford Meeks, PhD, hosts a conversation on the use of single-isocenter radiosurgery for multiple metastases. Dr. Meeks is joined by Richard Popple, PhD and John Fiveash, MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as Stephen Tenn, PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and Catherine Mercado, MD, from Orlando Health Cancer Institute. Dr. Meeks and guests discuss the changes in radiosurgery technology, features and differences of different radiosurgery systems, treatment planning procedures, and the clinical considerations when adopting these modalities.

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.