ASTRO Journals Calls for Papers

View the current Calls for Papers (CFPs) for ASTRO’s three journals: the Red Journal, Practical Radiation Oncology and Advances in Radiation Oncology. This page includes active CFPs for special issues and special sections in ASTRO’s portfolio of journals. While each section/issue features its own specialized editor(s), please send all submission inquiries to the Journals Department. Refer to the journals’ author instructions page for tips on how to submit a paper.

International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics:

Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Radiation Oncology

Advances in Radiation Oncology:

Use of Radiopharmaceuticals

Robert C. Miller, MD, FASTRO and William Small Jr., MD, FASTRO

The Advances editors are delighted to announce that we will have a special edition looking at the use of radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceutical therapy is emerging as a safe and effective targeted approach to treating many types of cancer. Novel therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are being developed at an impressive rate and are intended to tackle both the diagnosis and treatment of a disease with a single agent. Radiopharmaceutical dosimetry is also currently in its infancy but has the potential to transform the field in the same way it did for external beam radiation therapy.

We feel that this subject is very timely and of critical importance for our specialty, and are calling for original scientific studies, clinical trials, review articles, and opinion pieces on its many aspects. We have a call for papers that includes the following categories:

• PSMA or Ga 68 PSMA11 or Prostate specific membrane antigen
• Clinical Trials of new agents
• Single time point dosimetry or individualized dosimetry
• Patient selection
• Training and experience requirements for authorized users
• Radiation Oncologist role in radiopharmaceuticals

Our deadline for manuscript submission is June 30, 2022. To submit, please send papers through the journal’s submission system and select “Special Collection - Radiopharmaceuticals” as the article type. If past evidence is a guide, we do anticipate an excellent response. Thanks in advance to all of you who submit manuscripts, and we are looking forward to an excellent special edition of the journal. Please reach out to the editorial office with any questions at advances@astro.org.

Evolving Threats in Cybersecurity and Radiation Oncology: A Present Danger Call for Manuscripts

Robert C. Miller, MD, FASTRO 

In the weeks leading up to the national elections in November of 2020, while much of our nation’s attention was focused on political issues, a series of cyberattacks occurred on U.S. Healthcare institutions. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Agency issued an advisory on October 28, 2020, noting that “CISA, FBI, and HHS have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.”

The very technical and complex nature of radiation oncology combined with the escalation of cyber-attacks and changes of tactics from malicious actors may influence the risk profile of service providers, especially when the delay in receiving treatments may prove to be fatal. A recent attack on the University of Vermont Health Network resulted in an IT outage that lasted more than 40 days and was estimated to cost more than $63 million U.S. dollars to resolve. Delivery of radiation therapy was delayed for as much as 13 days for some patients due to the loss of the Radiation Oncology Department’s information management system. This incident was unique in the severity of the impact of the attack, but hardly unique.

We feel that this subject is very timely and of critical importance for our specialty, and are calling for original scientific studies, clinical trials, review articles, and opinion pieces on its many aspects that address the following challenges in cybersecurity and cybercrime of great importance:

• Social engineering attacks such as email phishing and business email compromise.
• Increased attempts to exploit internet facing vulnerabilities of organizations.
• Exploitation of system administration tools.
• Ineffective monitoring of critical IT systems.
• Human operated ransomware risks.

ASTRO’s Advances welcomes the submissions of scientific manuscripts, commentary and firsthand accounts of how providers and institutions are meeting these challenges. Our deadline for manuscript submission is June 30, 2022. To submit, send papers through the journal’s submission system and select “Special Collection - Cybersecurity” as the article type. Please reach out to the editorial office with any questions at advances@astro.org.