ASTRO 2025 education proposals, Congress releases year-end legislation, Ethics discussion group
December 18, 2024
| ASTRO 2025: Submit your Education Session proposals by January 6! | |
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ASTRO’s 67th Annual Meeting will take place September 28 – October 1, 2025, in San Francisco. The meeting theme is “Rediscovering Radiation Medicine and Exploring New Indications.” ASTRO continues to broaden the call for education session proposals to diversify and enrich the Annual Meeting Education Program. Learn more and submit your Education Session proposal by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, on Monday, January 6, 2025. |
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Congress nears end of lame-duck sprint Congressional leaders released text Tuesday, December 17, for year-end legislation that represents a mixed bag for radiation oncology. The deal includes a 2.5% “doc fix” increase to offset Medicare cuts in 2025 but fails to include bipartisan prior authorization reform legislation or increases for cancer research funding. The House and Senate are expected to vote on the legislation this week before the government spending deadline of December 20. ASTRO CEO Vivek Kavadi, MD, MBA, FASTRO, (pictured, left, with ASTRO Champion and ROCR lead sponsor Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01)) was on Capitol Hill this week as part of advocacy efforts to urge Congress to address ASTRO’s legislative priorities. See more at What’s Happening in Washington. |
| RO-ILS seeks nominations for physician safety stars |
| The deadline to nominate a radiation oncologist who goes above and beyond for patient safety is Monday, January 13. An underpinning goal of RO-ILS is to promote a strong safety culture; this includes celebrating champions at participating facilities. RO-ILS offers enrolled practices access to a ready-made portal to collate safety information and perform analysis in a confidential and federally protected environment. Participants receive access to RO-ILS education beyond publicly released reports. To learn more about this free program, contact ASTRO staff. |
| APEx welcomes new facilities |
Congratulations to the following facilities for achieving initial accreditation through ASTRO’s APEx - Accreditation Program for Excellence®:
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| Submit comments for Guideline on Radiation Therapy for WHO Grade 4 Diffuse Glioma |
| ASTRO seeks feedback on the draft guideline on Radiation Therapy for WHO Grade 4 Diffuse Glioma (replacing the 2016 Glioblastoma Guideline). The scope of the guideline is to provide updated recommendations on RT for patients with grade 4 adult-type diffuse glioma including diagnosis and treatment, integration of molecular markers, advanced imaging techniques and novel therapeutics. Please review the guideline and submit comments through the webform by Wednesday, January 15. |
| President’s Corner Episode 2 |
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| In the latest episode of the President’s Corner series, ASTRO President Sameer Keole, MD, FASTRO, shares more on the vision for the upcoming 2025 ASTRO Annual Meeting. Each year, the ASTRO President leads the development of the vision and theme of the meeting. Learn more about Dr. Keole’s theme, “Rediscovering Radiation Medicine and Exploring New Indications," and what you can expect to see at the 67th ASTRO Annual Meeting in San Francisco. |
| Ethics in Radiation Oncology Discussion Group: Professionalism |
| The ASTRO Ethics Committee will be hosting its next Ethics in Radiation Oncology Discussion Group with a case-based session pertaining to professionalism. The session will be held virtually, January 14, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. Registration for this event is free. Discussion will focus on recent newsworthy events, including the #medbikini controversy (Viral #MedBikini Response To Controversial Manuscript Leads Editor To Retract Article) and the associated ethical concerns identified in its response and resolution, with a focus on the ambiguity of medical professionalism standards. (For additional reading and context, please see: Picture a Professional: Rethinking Expectations of Medical Professionalism Through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - PMC). We look forward to a robust discussion. |
| New on ASTROblog –2024 Survivor Circle Grants awardees based in California expand their reach |
| Two California-based organizations, Cancer Support Community Los Angeles (CSCLA) and Breast Cancer Angels, were selected in the fall of 2023 as ASTRO’s Survivor Circle grant winners. For over 20 years, the grant of up to $12,500 has been awarded annually to selected organizations for the cancer-related services they provide in the state hosting ASTRO’s Annual Meeting. ASTRO followed up with both organizations to learn more about how the grants provided tangible support in the past year. Applications are now open for 2025 to organizations in California and due April 25, 2025. |
| Happy Holidays! |
| From all of us at ASTRO, we wish you a happy holiday season and new year as we ring in 2025! ASTROgram will resume on January 8, 2025. |
