ASTRO’s 68th Annual Meeting brought the radiation oncology community together in Boston in late September for five days of groundbreaking science, practical education and meaningful conversation. While weathering a New England Nor’easter, the meeting encompassed more than 200 sessions and workshops, centered around the theme “Data to Dialogue: Communicating Radiotherapy’s Value to Advance Care.”
Beyond the top science of the field, the meeting emphasized the conversations that move the radiation oncology forward. Under the recurring drumbeat of moving “data to dialogue,” Society leadership and meeting presenters encouraged all attendees to communicate the value of the field more effectively to patients and colleagues and the general public.
Missed a session or want to revisit the takeaways? Read through the ASTRO Daily News, expert commentary on research, and extended coverage from Boston listed in the articles below:
Expert commentary from ASTRO members who hand selected from top-rated abstracts to dig deeper on research presented at ASTRO 2026:
- Surveillance is not observation: MAVERICK challenges routine prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) By Avinash Chaurasia, MD, Brooke Army Medical Center
- New Waves from the Bone Thugs: Modernizing Radiotherapy for Plasma Cell Neoplasms, By Austin Sim, MD, JD, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Does brachytherapy boost improve outcomes for intermediate-risk prostate cancer? By Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Baylor College of Medicine
- Fractionated SRS improves local control for larger resected brain metastases: Results of Alliance A071801 By Hasan Murshed, MD, Hope Regional Cancer Center
- SRS versus hippocampal-avoidant WBRT for SCLC brain metastases: A negative primary endpoint but an intriguing survival signal from NRG-CC009 By Hasan Murshed, MD, Hope Regional Cancer Center
- Proton therapy does not improve survival over photon therapy in advanced HCC: Initial results of NRG-GI003 By Hasan Murshed, MD, Hope Regional Cancer Center
- Are all grade 1 meningioma equal? By Huma Chaudhry, MD, National Institutes of Health
- Beyond prediction: Linking CT imaging phenotypes to metastatic risk and tumor biology By Xiaofeng Yang, PhD, University of Chicago
- Neurocognitive outcomes following SRS By Huma Chaudhry, MD, National Institutes of Health
- Do conventional cardiac DVH predictors still generalize to contemporary radiotherapy practice? By Haidy Nasief, PhD, MS, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Identifying avenues to utilize AI and large language models to their full potential By Haidy Nasief, PhD, MS, Medical College of Wisconsin
- HEADLIGHT lights a path to hypofractionation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma By Jacob Wynne, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Long-term results in recurrent glioblastoma By Huma Chaudhry, MD, National Institutes of Health
- New research sharpens the picture of fracture risk after spine SBRT, though prevention remains elusive By Matt Susko, MD, MS, University of California San Francisco
Explore more of the science from the meeting News Releases:
- Real-world data indicate lower adherence rates for breast cancer endocrine therapy when radiation therapy is omitted
- Low-dose radiation therapy may slow progression of knee osteoarthritis, long-term study indicates
- Ultra-low-dose radiation therapy relieves bone pain from multiple myeloma
- Short-course radiation therapy better preserves physical function before pancreatic cancer surgery
- Five-treatment radiation therapy offers effective nonsurgical alternative for localized prostate cancer
- Radiosurgery linked to longer survival for small cell lung cancer with brain metastases
- Early interventions for depression tied to better cancer survival
- Incisionless radiosurgery shows promise for severe, treatment-resistant depression
- Fractionated radiosurgery reduces cancer recurrence after surgery for large brain metastases
Additional articles from the Daily News:
- Clinical Trials session
- Plenary session
- Presidential Symposium recap
- Keynote I Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, architects the blueprint for healthcare reform
- Presidential address - ASTRO President Vapiwala urges members to move from data to dialogue
- Keynote II Scott Gottlieb, MD, shares his view of the healthcare horizon
- A Dose of Art: The Art, Poetry, and Humanity of The Red Journal and Radiation Oncology
- 2026 Survivor Circle Grants awarded
Registered attendees can view the sessions onDemand through June 1, 2027. The meeting onDemand is also available for purchase.
