Radiation Oncology
Expert insights on radiation treatment planning, techniques, toxicity management, and multimodal cancer care.
Recent Discussions
Would you offer hippocampal sparing whole brain radiation for patients with brain metastases due to ES-SCLC?
Until we have built-in auto-segmentation, I find the RTOG contouring atlas very helpful for manual contouring of the hippocampus. I tend to use the lateral ventricle as my main landmark, and look for the circle of gray matter located medial to it. Once I've drawn a hippocampus, I'll look at it in th...
Which early-stage breast cancer patients who are candidates for 3-week hypofractionated whole breast EBRT are not good candidates for 1-week whole breast EBRT?
One important dosimetric criteria for 5.2 x 6 is V105 of 5% or less and v 107 of 2% or less. For 3-week RT, our data suggest v105 < 10% caused less morbidity. These dose homogeneity constraints are sometimes hard to meet for moderate or large size breasts, and one needs to be careful. Also, if a bo...
How are you using ArteraAI in 2026 for intermediate risk patients?
I use both ArteraAI and Decipher to help with these decisions. As Dr. @Dr. First Last says, it's post-hoc based on large datasets. Artera claims to be predictive, while Decipher is just prognostic. Without going through all the data, I find it helpful for intermediate risk, where it is on the cusp o...
What is the optimal duration of ADT in high-risk prostate cancer treated with RT+ADT?
Nabib et al. presented "Final Results" of the 18 vs. 36 month ADT trial for high-risk M0 prostate cancer in Chicago during ASCO 2017. This trial has the potential to be practice changing, since most men receive 2+ years of ADT during RT-ADT for high-risk disease. 630 patients were randomized and OS ...
Are any centers routinely using 55 Gy in 20 fractions with chemotherapy for definitive treatment of head and neck cancer following presentation of the HYPNO study?
I would not consider 55 Gy in 20 fractions a standard approach. The comparator arm was not standard practice in the US (66 Gy in 33 fractions with 5 weekly cycles of cisplatin at 35 mg/m2). Both the total RT dose (66 Gy < 70 Gy) and the total cisplatin dose (cumulative dose 175 mg/m2, less than the ...
How would you manage a small posterior vaginal defect noted at the time of cervical brachytherapy?
If it is from a disease, I would continue brachy as planned and address the defect based on response and healing. If unrelated to disease, I would have it sutured and continue brachy as planned.
How does the presence of indeterminate lymphadenopathy on PSMA PET scan alter your management of unfavorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer?
Summary: In practice, I usually review the imaging myself and attempt to evaluate for common pitfalls of interpretation or evidence that may convince me of a true positive. Often, I find a second review by a blinded radiologist helpful. Unless I am highly suspicious of a false positive, I often err ...
When should you use single-fraction radiotherapy for spinal cord compression?
The SCORAD III trial is practice changing. But I do NOT plan to treat ALL patients with spinal cord compression with a single fraction of 8 Gy now. Here is why: SCORAD III is extremely important new study for the management of metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) for patients with sho...
What are your top takeaways in Cutaneous Malignancies from ASCO 2026?
I presented a phase II trial of neoadjuvant cemiplimab immunotherapy and response-adapted radiotherapy for patients with locally advanced, unresectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Historically, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate in this situation with radiotherapy with or without...
Would you offer PMRT to a patient with pTisN1a left breast DCIS?
Macrometastases suggest there is missed invasive disease in the midst of 11-cm DCIS. For one macromet with only SLNB done, I would add CW and RNI as part of treatment, but if I had an ALND, then RT can be avoided.