Radiation Oncology

Melanoma/Skin Cancer   

Questions discussed in this category


Have you utilized these gene-expression profiles in your practice? Is there sufficient data for this test to be used for clinical decisions?

Would you treat the primary site alone, include the hand and arm lymphatics to the epitrochlear nodes (one continious treatment volume from hand to el...

What is the preferred dose, fractionation, and role of concurrent chemo? 

How would your management change in an elderly patient with no surgery verus superficial parotidectomy or total parotidectomy? 

Definitive radiation therapy > 5 years ago. Positive margins, PNI of 0.1 mm. What volume would you cover? Dose/fractionation? 

The patient's current PET scan showed no systemic disease. Due to his age, there is a concern of whether the patient would tolerate dual immunotherapy...

Would you treat both at the same time? Does one need to be prioritized over the other? Does Xeloda have any efficacy against Merkel cell cancer? How...

Is there a potential role for concurrent radiation therapy? What if the tumor is BRAF mutated?

In patients with no apparent skin involvement but lymph-node showing basal cell carcinoma with extracapsular extension. Would this warrant radiation o...

What margins do you use for each cancer for photons vs electrons? If your margins differ between cBCC and cSCC, why?

Majority of patients on the seminal trial (Gross et al., PMID 36094839) had tumors isolated to head & neck, what was the rationale for this?

Do you base your decision on extent of residual disease?  Does the use of (neo)adjuvant immunotherapy have an impact on surgical site size or he...

If there are no pre-op photos, what would your fields look like and dose/fractionation?

What dose and margins would you use? The patient is s/p a liver transplant on immunosuppression. 

What level of PNI is considered "large nerve" in this disease?

This is an elderly patient with a BCC/SCC over the shin who is not eligible for Mohs due to concern for wound-healing issues. Orthovoltage/superficial...

50+ yo F. Mastectomy, chemo, and RT in 2016 for primary breast angiosarcoma, not RT induced. Had longstanding cyst on wrist, biopsied, and positive fo...

Pt with 1.3 cm Merkel cell (buttock) excised with negative margins. Two sentinel inguinal nodes sampled and one is IHC+. 

If the inguinal node was previously treated with SBRT 30Gy/5fx and immunotherapy >6 months, what treatment would you recommend?

Would you recommend axillary dissection, axillary dissection followed by adjuvant radiation, or axillary radiation alone? Does the number of positive ...

If the only indication were the parotid mets (primary site resected with no high risk features) would you treat the parotid and neck (assuming skin ca...

Would you offer RT if there was bone invasion? If there was poor wound healing causing a 6 months delay, would you still offer RT?

Should definitive radiotherapy be used as a standard approach? If so, what are the dose and technique considerations in treating these complicated tum...

Is there any data to support it? What dose/fractionation would you consider?

In this case, I have a patient with widely metastatic cutaneous melanoma (BRAF wild type, NRAS mutated) who is progressing through pembrolizumab and i...

Apart from H&N SCC, are there times where adding an extra dose of radiation due to a tx break is appropriate?  Is there a decent equatio...

Would you treat the primary site only, include popliteal nodes, or include popliteal and inguinal nodes?

What radiation doses would you use for the scar and axillary nodal regions? Should supraclavicular and/or IMNs be covered? 

Would you choose re-treatment with electrons, photons, or brachytherapy?   What dose and fractionation scheme would you employ?

In a patient who would be otherwise fit for surgery +/- adjuvant RT, and the delay is caused by COVID-related OR staffing issues, what would be your a...

With so many choices listed in NCCN guidelines ranging from 2-7 weeks, what considerations factor into your decision making? 

Is there any alteration in approach from the medical, surgical, or radiation oncology perspective that can mitigate the risk of forming keloids withou...

The index lesion was located inferior to the left knee and excised appropriately, with an additional in-transit metastasis in the left mid leg. The pa...

What is the role and sequence of surgery and/or RT? Which nodal levels would you include in your RT field(s)?

How would your treatment change for definitive vs post-surgical RT? Does approach differ depending on the anatomic (distal vs proximal and dorsal vs ...

What are the surgical and radiation options? What dose and fractionation scheme is appropriate for fractionated SRS?

In a patient with a history of a RLE melanoma s/p WLE and right ILND, how would you treat nodal recurrence? What are the surgical vs non-surgical opt...

What approaches (surgical vs non-surgical) offer the best cosmesis for keratoacanthoma (low grade squamous cell carcinoma) ? 

Is there a role for radiation? Does your approach differ depending on site(s) of  disease, and/or if the patient has Basal-Cell Nevus (Gorlin) sy...

In treating skin cancers of the scalp,  are there any specific constraints you give to the skin itself to prevent alopecia?  How does changi...

In general, how would you approach such a case with regards to creation of your treatment volumes and dose-fractionation? 

Would you recommend radiation therapy or immunotherapy? If proceeding with radiation therapy, what dose-fractionation and technique would you utilize?

Should concurrent chemotherapy be given? How would you modify the regimen in elderly/frail patients?

Would you treat with radiation (+/- surgery upfront, if resectable) or systemic therapy?

When do you electively treat the ipsilateral versus ipsi- and contralateral neck?

This particular case involves a patient with a frontal scalp low grade eccrine carcinoma status-post excision with positive margin complicated by...

Would you recommend adjuvant radiotherapy for a patient with positive margins for in situ disease with negative margins for invasive disease? If so, w...

Would there be any indication for postoperative RT if cervical lymph nodes are negative?

Assuming no other sites of disease on staging scans, surgery is not an option, and the patient is otherwise healthy with reasonable life expectancy. W...

In this example, the patient had a resected melanoma with negative margins and the specimen was noted to have two nests of tumor cells in the deep der...

Given the location but no other high risk features would you offer RT?  If so, what dose and fields? 

In patients with cancers involving the lid requiring superficial x-ray treatment, I use an internal eye shield placed under the lid to protect the cor...

Specifically, for a melanoma of the axilla with proximity to the brachial plexus, how would you approach such a case to minimize chance of radiation-i...

What pathologic features are most important when evaluating the possible need for adjuvant therapy?

Is it possible to get a good measurement with TLDs? TLDs can overestimate the surface dose by 10 - 40%. Do you use a skin diode measurement on the fir...

Sometimes wound healing can delay adjuvant radiotherapy by several months. For aggressive histology, such as high grade sarcomas or skin cancers with&...

*Negative margins, <1cm in size, no LVI, negative SLNB, not immunocompromised, no prior surgery (as well as a negative PET/CT scan).

Would your recommendation change with the following aggressive features: 8 cm, pericolic extension, positive radial margin, perineural invasion presen...

Do you prescribe to 5mm/apex or use a margin? Do you add time for tumor growth or allow less than the prescription dose to the apex?

Especially in the setting of prior “standard” adjuvant dose and refusal of the patient to undergo more extensive surgery. Do you recommend...

These patients are often not surgical candidates, but radiation complications may also be underappreciated.  Do you refer to vascular surgery pri...

Is extrascleral extension or optic nerve invasion an indication?  I can find little in the literature or textbooks discussing this issue, likely ...

What are your dose constraints for treating axillary nodal basin in melanoma with the Ballo protocol 30Gy/5fx?

Should these patients have surgery if resectable? Should RT (SBRT) be directed at metastases during/concurrently with immunotherapy down the road?&nbs...

Would you recommend additional surgery for the violated neck? Or, would you proceed with adjuvant radiation therapy? If so, would you treat ipsilatera...

For example, in a patient status-post WLE with a close (2.5 mm) deep margin and negative neck node sampling, would clinical (but not pathologic) ...

For example, for a squamous cell carcinoma of the forearm treated with Mohs surgery with negative margins, are there features that would lead you to e...

Per NCCN, only +/close margins and +PNI are given as indications for adjuvant RT. However, are the presence of other risks factors considered to guide...

If the cyst was encapsulated and completely removed and SCC was found incidentally on final pathology, what are some factors that would influence your...

NCCN lists only substantial perineural invasion.  What about other high-risk adverse features such as histologic subtype, multiple recurrences, d...

 How does your fractionation choice change if the lesion is abutting the pleura?

These patients have been largely excluded from these trials.  What if the infection is well controlled?

When elective nodal radiation is recommended, which nodes would you treat (i.e. facial, pre-auricular, peri-parotid, levels I-III, etc.)?

Patient underwent a shave biopsy of a 6x5x2mm preauricular lesion that showed moderatley differentiated sebaceous carcinoma with deep and lateral marg...

Per the NCCN guidelines, in this specific scenario, adjuvant radiation therapy to the locoregional lymph nodes after lymph node dissection is not indi...

In a clinical N0 patient with high risk (large, deeply invasive, poorly differentiated, +PNI, etc) cutaneous SCC of the head and neck, who do you...

Unlike in post-operative cases, you lack detailed pathologic information in this scenario. Do you base your decision on location, size, and/or patholo...

What dose/fractionation would yield the lowest risk of graft failure? Does your treatment management change based of location, ex the ear vs back?

For example, would you recommend treatment of the cervical and posterior occipital lymphatics for a 4 cm lesion deeply invading the posterior ridge of...

How do you decide between plaque brachytherapy and external beam approaches? What dose do you use for plaque brachytherapy? For external beam, what do...

What dose-fractionation schedule and treatment volumes would you utilize for adjuvant radiation therapy status-post total parotidectomy with negative ...

Is there a minimum amount of nodes you would like to be removed before you omit radiation to the neck? Do you consider other factors when deciding whe...

In a patient who already received 13 courses of radiation (with complete response), is there any other effective treatment?

Specifically, the cheek? If so, which nodes should be treated and to what dose?    

If a patient has undergone wide local excision with residual disease, but negative margins, is it safe to observe? If adjuvant treatment is indicated,...

Some medical oncologists tend to hold anticoagulation in patients who develop brain metastases for fear of causing intracranial hemorrhage.  Is t...

Would you treat large/total scalp fields to definitive skin cancer doses? If the patient has a more limited KPS, would you treat sequentially in order...

Would your recommendations change if it was a partial vs complete radiographic response?

How long would you typically wait between date of surgery and initiation of radiation therapy? What factors influence this decision?

If so, how large of a margin would you place on the primary lesion and would you incorporate any adjacent lymph node levels?

For example, if you had an octogenarian with a previously resected squamous cell carcinoma of the skin who presented with metastases to the parotid an...

Do you give a treatment break? Is so, how long should RT be held? Are there skin management techniques to use?

Following Mohs surgery and in the absence of other high risk features, do you offer RT for any PNI?  A single nerve < 0.1 mm? A single ne...

Would you be comfortable with 55Gy in 20 fractions around the optic nerves and brainstem, or would you treat with a more protracted fractionation? Do ...

Would re-irradiation be an appropriate option? What dose/field would you incorporate? If treating with standard fractionation, would you take the enti...

If the patient is a poor surgical candidate and is a symptomatic, can he or she live with this?

Is there any consensus regarding the optimal RT dose, fractionation, and timing to the best abscopal response? What is the optimal metastatic site to ...

For example, if a 5 x 5 cm squamaous cell carcinoma with deep invasion has been resected via Mohs with negative margins, will your PTV include the ent...

Is modern surgical/reconstruction treatment superior to radiation therapy? If contact brachytherapy or superficial (orthovoltage) therapy isnt possib...

Is the surrounding erythema as part of the GTV so that the margin is placed around the erythema rather than around the gross lesion only?

Assume all other options have been exhausted or are not feasible (e.g. systemic treatments, medically inoperable, etc.). Is there a BED or EQD2 that y...

Do you hypofractionate or add any concurrent systemic therapy? What specific dose-fractionation regimens do you recommend?

Even though data from TROG 02.01 showed 52% decrease in LR, I've heard some argue that toxicity is increased and that "it damages the blood vessels an...


Papers discussed in this category


Oral oncology, 2018-03

J. Clin. Oncol., 2018 Mar 14

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2004-11-01

JAMA Dermatol,

Blood, 2015-07-23

Cancer, 1995 May 1

JAMA dermatology, 2016-09-01

Ann Surg Oncol, 2003 May

American journal of surgery, 2001-12

World J Surg, 1992 Mar-Apr

Cancer, 2005-10-01

Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, 2014-01

Radiation oncology (London, England), 2015-09-21

Med Dosim, 2013 Summer

Radiother Oncol, 1989-02-01

J. Clin. Oncol., 2018-06-10

Cancer, 2011-10-15

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2016-06-01

Radiother Oncol, 2002-07-01

Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, 2017-10

Head Neck, 2011-12-01

Br. J. Dermatol.,

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2017-03-15

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys.,

Lancet (London, England), 2017-10-21

J. Clin. Oncol.,

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2009-04-01

The New England journal of medicine, 2012-03-08

Practical radiation oncology, 2017

PLoS One, 2016

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys.,

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 2016 Jul 15

Lancet Oncol., 2012 May 09

J Surg Oncol, 2018 Dec 18

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2018-01-15

Therapeutic advances in medical oncology, 2018

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2002-03-15

Lancet Oncol., 2014-11-01

Ann. Oncol., 2011 Jul 12

Ophthalmology, 2002-10

Archives of ophthalmology (Chicago, Ill. : 1960), 2002-12

Am. J. Ophthalmol.,

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2001-03-15

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 2017 Feb 17

Br J Ophthalmol, 2013 Jan 19

JAMA Ophthalmol,

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2013-05-01

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2017-01-01

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2015-06-01

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys.,

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2006-11

PloS one, 2015

Br J Ophthalmol, 2013 May 03

Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2016 Jan 28

Saudi J Ophthalmol,

Journal of contemporary brachytherapy, 2017-04

Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys.,

The British journal of dermatology, 2019-02

JAAD Case Rep, 2019 Jun 26

Pract Radiat Oncol, 2019 Dec 09

Radiother Oncol, 2010 Mar 23

Lancet (London, England), 2004-05-22

The Lancet. Oncology, 2016-07

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2018-03-15

The New England journal of medicine, 2018-08-23

Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2019-01-01

J. Clin. Oncol., 2019 Sep 25

Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol),

Lancet Oncol., 2018 Mar 27

Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2012 Apr 18

Cancer, 2016 Jun 10

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2017-11-15

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 1997-03-01

Neurosurgery, 2020 Apr 21

J. Am. Acad. Dermatol.,

J. Am. Acad. Dermatol., 2011 Oct 24

J Am Acad Dermatol, 2019 Sep 25

N Engl J Med, 2022 Sep 12

Front Oncol, 2023 Jan 04

Br J Dermatol, 2015 Aug 08

Lancet Oncol, 2015 Jul 20

Lancet Oncol, 2019 Dec

Journal of medical case reports, 2010-05-22

Ann Med Surg (Lond), 2017 Jun 20

Case Rep Oncol, 2021 May 10

J Clin Oncol,

Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys,

Head Neck, 2021 Jun 07

Lancet Oncol, 2008 Jul 09

Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2020 Apr 11

American journal of clinical oncology, 2005-12

Head & neck, 2016-01

The Laryngoscope, 1994-02

Oral and maxillofacial surgery, 2023 Apr 05

J Am Acad Dermatol, 2020 May 07

J Dermatolog Treat, 2022 May 23

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2018-05-01

Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology, 2020 Aug 05

Annals of surgical oncology, 2020 May 13

Radiother Oncol, 2019 Feb 28

Annals of surgery, 2006-12

Annals of surgical oncology, 2013-07

Annals of surgical oncology, 2010-01

Diseases of the colon and rectum, 1999-09

Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2006-09-10

Dermatol Pract Concept, 2019 Jan 31

Clin Cancer Res, 2013 Jul 05

Brachytherapy, 2017

Brachytherapy, 2020 Jul - Aug

Brachytherapy, 2015 Aug 28

International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2022 Dec 28

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2018-02-15