| October 3, 2023 |
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AM Portal | Abstracts | Exhibits | onDemand | Daily News
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Plenary session highlights potentially practice-changing advances in radiation therapy
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This year’s Plenary session included the presentation of five abstracts with four discussants, focused largely on promising new advances in delivering radiation therapy faster and more effectively while better preserving patients’ quality of life. The session was moderated by Andrea Ng, MD, FASTRO, MPH, Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center in Boston and Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, FASTRO, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai in New York City. Read more.
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Michalski shares personal reflections and words of encouragement during Presidential Address
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ASTRO President Jeff Michalski, MD, FASTRO, delivered the Presidential Address titled Personal Lessons from Patients and Clinical Trials. During his address, Dr. Michalski focused on six motivators:
Mentor - Advising early career physicians to listen to sound advice and more seasoned physicians to be generous with their experience.
Be humble and be accountable – Acknowledging past mistakes made and lessons learned, which drove his interest in quality and safety.
Have grit – Discussing challenges clinical trials face and what it takes to pursue critical findings.
Be curious – Promoting this important motivator to continue discoveries to improve patient outcomes.
Have courage – Encouraging colleagues to conduct studies that randomize new technologies against existing standards of care.
Read more on this compelling address online and in today’s ASTRO Daily News, printed and distributed on site in bins around the convention center.
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Abstract highlights
Thank you to the volunteers from the ASTRO Communications Committee; Research Grants Evaluation Subcommittee; Science Education and Program Development Subcommittee; and Promoting Science Through Research and Training Committee for providing expert commentary on scientific presentations and abstracts provided in the Daily News.
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Saving Tissue, Time and Resources with Two-Fraction Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy: The SAVE Trial for Early Endometrial Cancer
Presenting author: David Gaffney, MD
Vaginal cuff brachytherapy (VCB) has most commonly been completed over the course of three to five fractions, but based on data from the SAVE trial, a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial with non-inferiority design out of the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute, VCB may be safely performed in as few as 2 fractions with less acute urinary side effects and comparable gastrointestinal and vaginal side effects at one year with no significant difference in recurrence at 2.5-year median follow-up.
Read more.
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A Reanalysis of PACE-B: Acute Toxicity Predicts Late Toxicities
Presenting author: Ragu Ratnakumaran, MBBS
PACE-B was a landmark study published in Lancet Oncology in 2022 randomizing 874 men with prostate cancer between standard fractionation and SBRT. The investigators reported two-year study results and found that two-year toxicity rates were similar, with grade 2 or worse RTOG genitourinary toxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity not significantly different between arms. At this year’s ASTRO meeting, Ragu Ratnakumaran, MBBS, presented an analysis comparing the toxicity seen in the acute post-treatment phase (within 12 weeks of treatment completion) and late phase (between 6-24 months after treatment).
Read more.
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Novel Biomarker Informs Early Detection of Malignant Transformation in NF1 Patients
Presenting Author: Aadel Chaudhuri, MD, PhD
Aadel Chaudhuri, MD, PhD, et al., reported the results of a cohort study that evaluated cell-free DNA fragmentomics in the detection of malignant transformation in NF1 patients with plexiform neurofibromas. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) exhibit intrinsic resistance to radiation therapy and chemotherapy, portending a poor prognosis and a low survival rate. Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who also harbor plexiform neurofibromas (PN) are at increased risk to develop MPNST. Earlier detection of malignant transformation (MPNST), and pre-malignant transformation (atypical neurofibroma; AN) represents a novel strategy to guide personalized precision management for these patients, with the goal of significantly improving their survival.
Read more.
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Today’s Daily News now available
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Hot off the presses! Today’s Daily News is available throughout the convention center and at the ASTRO Resource Center. Coverage includes the schedule at a glance for Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as recaps of yesterday’s key sessions, including Plenary, Dr. Michalski’s Presidential Address and a keynote address from Arif Kamal. Also included are previews of today’s programming, photos from around the convention center, and a look at ASTRO 2024. If you are attending virtually, read the PDF.
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Today, ASTRO welcomes Anupam Bapu Jena, MD, PhD, for the second keynote
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Today, ASTRO welcomes Anupam Bapu Jena, MD, PhD, who will deliver the second keynote address — Random Acts of Medicine, today at 9:15 a.m. in Ballroom 20. Dr. Jena will explore how natural experiments — random events that unknowingly turn us into experimental subjects — can show us how our health is shaped by forces invisible to the untrained eye. This engaging and entertaining presentation will spark thought-provoking conversation and surprising "ah-ha" moments centered around the role that chance plays in our health and how natural experiments can help us understand what really makes medicine work — and how it could work better.
Dr. Jena is the Joseph P. Newhouse Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. As one of a small group of physician economists in the world, Dr. Jena uses creative natural experiments to help us understand how health care works. He is the former host of the Freakonomics, M.D. podcast and the author of the forthcoming book, Random Acts of Medicine – The Hidden Forces that Sway Doctors, Impact Patients and Shape our Health. His work is frequently featured in the media, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
Don’t miss the recap of Dr. Arif Kamal’s Keynote, Cancer Support 3:0: A New Era in Compassion, from yesterday.
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Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon
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ASTRO voting members (Active, Affiliate and International) are invited to attend the Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in Room 6A. Hear from Society leaders on a wide array topics relevant to the Society, including current and future ASTRO programs, key findings from the recent workforce study and ASTRO’s priorities for the future. In addition, the business meeting will feature information and an open discussion of ASTRO’s Radiation Oncology Case Rate (ROCR) program proposal, which is designed to reform radiation therapy reimbursement under Medicare by stabilizing payments, reducing disparities, and improving upon already excellent quality care. Lunch will be served.
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Join us for Speed Mentoring today at 1:00 p.m.
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Head to the Early Career and Mentoring Lounge in Room 10, Upper Level, for our Speed Mentoring event featuring 25 mentors! This event is intended for attendees who want to build networks and gain insights and inspiration from ASTRO leaders. All are invited to participate, and a ticket is not required for admittance. See the lineup of mentors and topics.
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