Dear Radiation Oncology Insider,
This is the holiday season for many people around the world, a season often associated with gifts. So it is especially appropriate that this newsletter's Insider Exclusive is about a gift: free advice from specialist academic luminaries to community-based radiation oncologists who have questions or are seeking a second opinion about a patient's treatment plan.
Chartrounds is a virtual networking site that provides a forum to bring specialist experts and radiation oncologists together to discuss patient treatment plans. It's been expanding by word of mouth alone, and we think you'll find our article about the organization very interesting. You might even want to participate! Click here to learn more.
Concerns regarding radiation therapy safety have diminished from the ECRI Institute's perspective. The topic fell off the organization's top 10 hazards list, which you can review here.
In news from the recent RSNA 2012 meeting in Chicago, Australian researchers showed that having a radiologist as part of a cancer treatment team helped improve the appropriateness and accuracy of radiation oncology treatment.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Boston took place in spite of Superstorm Sandy, and features editor Wayne Forrest braved the weather to attend. He reported on the megatrends identified by Dr. Michael Steinberg, ASTRO's president.
In other ASTRO news of interest to the Radiation Oncology Digital Community:
- Researchers contend that proton therapy outperforms intensity-modulated radiation therapy as a prostate cancer treatment and offers more quality-of-life benefits. Read about these studies here and here.
- Results from a Canadian clinical trial warn that patients who receive accelerated partial-breast irradiation combined with external-beam radiation therapy face an elevated risk of poor breast cosmesis.
- Results from studies evaluating stereotactic body radiation therapy show benefits for patients with non-small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer. Read about these findings here and here.
AuntMinnie.com will report more news from the ASTRO meeting in the coming weeks, as well as more highlights of RSNA 2012.
Meanwhile, have a happy holiday and new year!
