Program Information

Program Content/Format

This course is designed to provide clinicians in practice and trainees with a comprehensive review and update of the clinical practice parameters across most major sub-disciplines of radiation oncology, including sarcomas, pediatrics and lymphomas, and the role of radiotherapy in the multidisciplinary management of cancer patients. The course will review key evidence that forms the basis for current clinical practice guidelines and trends in new approaches. In addition, the course will cover implementation of hypofractionation in key disease sites as well as treatment of oligometastases and use of SBRT to improve outcomes for patients with metastatic disease. It will also provide hands-on experience in contouring for CNS, sarcoma, and head and neck. It will also inform on the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence in the clinic and the use of circulating tumor DNA in the treatment of select patients with cancer.

Statement of Need

It is challenging for busy clinicians to stay current with the latest updates in the disease sites they treat. Information is disseminated rapidly in journal articles, webinars, podcasts and social media. Summarizing this information in a reasonable and memorable format is a great service to the specialty.

The effective and safe practice of radiation oncology requires a mastery of rapidly evolving technology and ever-changing treatment paradigms. Staying current with these changes and mastering new approaches such as more aggressive treatment of oligometastases and incorporation of AI and ctDNA is essential for patient safety and improved survival and is a need that the ASTRO Refresher courses can fill.

The use of Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a widely-used tool in Radiation Oncology departments. There is a lack of experience with AI applications and a learning intervention is needed to help Radiation Oncologists incorporate this into their practices in a safe and effective manner.

Program Objectives

Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:

1. Describe and implement the latest radiation therapy treatment recommendations for clinical scenarios commonly encountered in clinical practice.
2. Safely utilize the latest radiation technologies to improve patient care.
3. Describe the ways in which Artificial Intelligence can be implemented in the radiation oncology clinic to aid contouring, diagnosis, and management of patients.
4. Appropriately and safely incorporate the treatment of oligometastases into clinical practice.
5. Identify the ways in which ctDNA can be used in the management of patients with cancer.

Elements of Competence

This educational forum has been designed to narrow the following competency gaps, 13 of the 19 core competencies embraced by the American Board of Medical Specialties, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the Institute of Medicine, the American Board of Radiology and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education:

• Patient care, medical knowledge and practice-based learning and improvement
• Patient-centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement and utilizing informatics
• Commitment to lifelong learning, cognitive expertise and evaluation of performance in practice
• Roles/responsibilities and teams and teamwork

Target Audience

The meeting is designed to meet the interests of practicing radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents, medical and clinical physicists, radiation therapists, radiation dosimetrists, nurses and all other health professionals involved in the field of radiation oncology.