Radiation Oncology
Expert insights on radiation treatment planning, techniques, toxicity management, and multimodal cancer care.
Recent Discussions
When treating rectal cancer with TNT and induction chemotherapy first, do you repeat pelvic MRI prior to planning for chemoradiation?
TNT approach options for pMMR T3, N any; T1–2, N1–2; T4, N any or locally unresectable or medically inoperable rectal cancer patients include:First chemotherapy for 12-16 weeks (FOLFOX or CAPEOX may also consider FOLFIRINOX) followed by long-course chemoradiation or short-course radiation, followed ...
In a patient with gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy who had a good response but is unable to undergo surgery, how would you approach radiation therapy?
As the ARTDECO study did not show a difference in local control between 50.4 Gy and 61.6 Gy (given with carbo/taxol, but FOLFOX is also an option per PRODIGE5, depending on chemotherapy used as part of the initial chemo-IO), I would suggest 50.4 Gy.
In what cases of T3N0 glottic SCC, would you omit chemotherapy and offer radiation alone?
The question seems to stem from a presentation of a patient that would have historically been stage 2, but more recent editions of AJCC and more refined imaging have upstaged the patient to stage 3 by calling minimal paraglottic extension on an MRI. This is similar to a previous question where a pat...
When would you consider initial induction chemotherapy (e.g. FOLFOX) followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiation, over neoadjuvant chemoradiation alone, in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer?
At MSKCC, we now routinely recommend induction chemotherapy (8 cycles of FOLFOX) to any rectal cancer patient who requires preoperative chemoRT. Initially, we adopted this approach for patients with particularly bulky or node-positive disease (as per @Dr. First Last's answer above) but now do it for...
For marginal recurrences of skin cancers after prior hypofractionated radiation therapy (i.e., 30 Gy/5 fx, 55 Gy/20 fx) where there is concern for overlapping fields, could reirradiation with a hypofractionated course be considered?
For a marginal recurrence of a cutaneous malignancy after definitive hypofractionated RT, I would not necessarily offer reirradiation. I would have my plastic/dermatologic surgeon see the patient for consideration of surgical salvage, which may likely require an advanced reconstruction. If the patie...
How do you balance short-term efficacy against increased low-grade toxicity and quality-of-life considerations for higher single-fraction regimens in recurrent glioma patients?
When considering radiation options for recurrent glioma, in my mind, one size does not fit all. I consider several aspects of the specific patient’s clinical situation: Patient’s prior treatments: time interval, volume, location, and anatomic site, response to prior treatment, response duration from...
When do you prefer pre-operative SRS over post-operative SRS for brain metastases?
For patients with brain metastases that benefit from resection, our approach is to always treat pre-operatively unless the patient requires immediate surgical intervention. Pre-operative SRS has several advantages including clear target delineation. Post-op SRS has best results with expanded volumes...
For an upper lip (near midline) Merkel cell carcinoma s/p wide local excision with negative SLNB and no adjuvant RT, with the recurrence to one side of the neck a year later, should the contralateral neck be included in the radiation field?
Our practice for metachronous isolated neck metastases one year or more after primary treatment is to treat only the involved neck with the rationale that there has been adequate time for the cancer to declare itself. This presumes the contralateral neck is screened with US and PET-CT, and then woul...
Do you still recommend protons for grade 2 and grade 3 glioma, following the Soprano study results showing a survival detriment?
I should start by saying that I generally do not recommend proton therapy for grade 2-3 gliomas in adults unless there is a clear and specific indication. Modern photon techniques such as VMAT are highly conformal, efficient, and safe, and they form the backbone of the evidence base that guides our ...
Do you boost a breast cavity for a high Ki-67 index in the absence of other risk factors?
Ki-67 has some level of subjectivity with inter-individual variation. If genomic testing, like Oncotype or Mammaprint, has been done, I would favor using that to decide whether the patient is low risk or not over k1-67 alone.