This course is designed to provide clinicians in practice and trainees with a comprehensive review and update of the clinical practice parameters across most sub-disciplines of radiation oncology, including sarcomas 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.
Below is session planning content that will help attendees extend and enhance learning as well as reinforce changes in practice. View more information on the overall program.
This session will provide a global overview of breast radiotherapy indications, approaches and techniques, informed by the latest clinical trials and relevant research. By the completion of the session, attendees should be able to identify which patients are suitable for omission of radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer, what kinds of genomic tests have been explored for risk stratification, and what techniques and dose/fractionation schemes demonstrate appropriate efficacy and toxicity profiles for definitive breast radiotherapy.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This session will focus on recent and emerging research in radiation oncology for patients with brain and spine tumors. Special emphasis will be placed on radiosurgery dose/fractionation selection, IDH inhibition in glioma and glioma contouring/targeting. Future directions for brain tumor research will also be discussed, including several ongoing clinical trials.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
There have been many advances and evolutions in the treatment of primary and metastatic CNS tumors. There are different treatment planning and contouring guidelines for CNS tumors. Without a clear and consolidated understanding of best practices, this could affect quality of care.
This will be a focused econtouring session on primary and secondary brain tumors, including the planning/treatment of CSI for leptomeningeal disease, brain SRS for intact and post operative brain metastases, and the treatment of glioma with a brief discussion and application of different MRI sequences.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This session will include an introduction covering common head and neck cancer subtypes. Basics of head and neck anatomy will be reviewed. Subsequently, we will transition to a case-based approach that will demonstrate target volume design for common head and neck tumor types.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
Sarcomas are rare tumors. There are numerous ongoing advances in radiation therapy dosing and delivery for soft tissue sarcoma. Many physicians do not routinely see these tumors in practice because of their rarity. Failure to stay informed of current expert thinking on dosing and contouring leads to lower quality of care for patients with this rare malignancy.
This session will review indications for RT for STS in adults. We will review dosing and contouring rationale for STS in adults. We will review toxicity management and expectations for radiotherapeutic management for STS in adults.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
It is difficult to know when to strongly advocate for radiation therapy in many GI malignancies. This talk will provide an overview of that topic to help practicing radiation oncologists gain clarity around the benefits of RT in specific GI malignancies as supported by current prospective trials.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This refresher course will provide an overview of the treatment of prostate cancer with an emphasis on the role of radiation therapy in the treatment of localized disease, nodal disease, recurrent disease after prostatectomy and treatment of the primary in the setting of oligometastatic disease. It will include discussion of optimal systemic therapy to administer with radiation treatment, incorporating predictive biomarkers into practice, normal tissue constraints and comparative outcomes between radiation, surgery and active surveillance.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
Uterine and cervical cancer are the most common gynecologic cancers worldwide. There are frequent changes and updates to their treatment options, radiation planning and radiation techniques. This session will improve the quality of care by educating practicing clinicians in these areas. We will review diagnosis, staging and treatment of uterine and cervical cancers, including surgery, systemic therapy and radiation therapy. Focusing on radiation therapy, we will go through specific indications for radiation therapy. We will also review specific techniques and doses that are required to treat patients with uterine and cervical cancers.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
There are many ongoing advances in head and neck cancer in the context of radiation therapy delivery, clinical research on treatment options and advanced techniques in radiotherapy delivery. Failure to stay informed leads to lower quality of care by practicing clinicians.
This is a lecture-based educational format designed to update attendees on the latest evidence-based practice recommendations for head and neck cancer radiation therapy. Scientific updates that inform practice as well as technological advances that are relevant to best outcomes for patients will be addressed.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
The treatment approaches for lung cancer are rapidly evolving and include integration of new systemic therapies (e.g., immunotherapy and targeted therapies) into combined modality approaches for non-metastatic disease and ablative radiation therapy approaches for oligometastatic disease. As an example, there is emerging data on immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy for surgery in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, but no direct head-to-head comparison with chemoradiation plus immunotherapy, which creates a gap in knowledge on how to manage these patients.
This session will review recent literature and guidelines for the treatment of lung cancer, and provide insights into tailoring of different combined modality therapy options for patients. Attendees will learn about the clinical outcomes and toxicity risks, and how to coordinate these new, complex multidisciplinary treatment approaches. Furthermore, this session will review recent insights into toxicity risks for both conventional radiation therapy (especially in the postoperative setting and related to cardiac injury) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (especially for ultracentral tumors), and the implications of radiation therapy toxicity on newer combined modality approaches.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
In this session we will review current principles and data supporting the utilization of radiation therapy for patients with hematologic malignancies. We will explore current treatment paradigms as well as modern radiation treatment techniques that are utilized in this patient population. We will examine the indications for cellular therapies and how radiation therapy can serve as a therapeutic partner for the treatment of refractory disease.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This session aims to provide a comprehensive update on the latest advancements and evidence-based practices in the management of oligometastatic/oligoprogressive disease. It will include a didactic portion, case studies, and interactive discussions. Participants will enhance their understanding of the biological underpinnings, diagnostic criteria and therapeutic strategies for oligometastatic/oligoprogressive disease. Emphasis is placed on the integration of modern radiation therapy techniques, systemic therapies and multidisciplinary approaches to improve patient outcomes.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
There are many advances in the application of AI in contouring and segmentation, as well as patient specific quality assurance. However, it is important to know whether the system is working as intended, and there are implications that should be carefully considered that users may not be aware of prior to implementation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly transforming the field of radiation therapy and offers exciting new tools including auto-contouring and patient-specific quality assurance. This presentation will delve into the latest advancements in AI-powered contouring, explore how these tools can automate tasks, improve consistency, and reduce time spent on these tasks. We will also discuss the emerging role of AI in quality assurance, examining how these approaches can help us evaluate accuracy and safety of radiation treatments. We will also explore challenges and risks in implementation.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This presentation will cover established and emerging roles of ctDNA as a precision medicine tool to guide radiotherapy. This promising class of noninvasive biomarkers could have an outsized impact on cancer management by meaningfully stratifying patients into risk groups, tracking radiotherapy efficacy during and after treatment, and identifying patients with radiosensitive or radioresistant disease. Current gaps in evidence and practical considerations will be discussed.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
This session will review the basic concepts of staging, overall treatment paradigm, radiation specific recommendations, radiation simulation, planning and treatment aspects, and literature regarding extremity and retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas. This session will also review literature regarding hypofractionation for extremity soft tissue sarcomas and provide guidance on how best to incorporate this into practice. This session will also review literature regarding the role of radiation therapy for retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas and how best to incorporate radiation therapy into practice.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
Pediatric oncology requires a thoughtful integration of radiation treatment into multi-modality care paradigms. While most providers will feel comfortable following protocol scripted treatment guidelines, case specific considerations are often required to address competing concerns of the morbidity of combined modality care and achieving expected rates of disease control. This session highlights the basics of the role of radiotherapy as well as addresses findings from recent North American and International trials which are refining radiotherapy's therapeutic ratio in children and adolescents.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of this live activity, attendees should be able to do the following:
References
Halperin, Edward C., et al. Pediatric Radiation Oncology. N.p., Wolters Kluwer Health, 2012.
Kortmann, Role-Fieter., Merchant, Thomase E. Pediatric Radiation Oncology. Germany, Springer International Publishing.
Macdonald, Shannon M., Terezakis, Stephanie A. Target Volume Delineation for Pediatric Cancers. (2019). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Potential Challenges/Barriers to Change
