Radiation biology workforce in the United States.

In recent decades, the principal goals of participants in the field of radiation biologists have included defining dose thresholds for cancer and non-cancer endpoints to be used by regulators, clinicians and industry, as well as informing on best practice radiation utilization and protection applications. Importantly, much of this work has required an intimate relationship between "bench" radiation biology scientists and their target audiences (such as physicists, medical practitioners and epidemiologists) in order to ensure that the requisite gaps in knowledge are adequately addressed. However, despite the growing risk for public exposure to higher-than-background levels of radiation, e.

Association of Radiation Therapy With Risk of Adverse Events in Patients Receiving Immunotherapy: A Pooled Analysis of Trials in the US Food and Drug Administration Database.

Importance: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and radiation therapy (RT) are widely used to treat various cancers, but little data are available to guide clinicians on ICI use sequentially with RT.

Objective: To assess whether there is an increased risk of serious adverse events (AEs) associated with RT given within 90 days prior to an ICI.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Individual patient data were pooled from 68 prospective trials of ICIs submitted in initial or supplemental licensing applications in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) databases through December 2019.

Survival outcomes in older men with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with androgen receptor inhibitors: a US Food and Drug Administration pooled analysis of patient-level data from three randomised trials.

Background: Little is known about the benefit-risk profile of second-generation androgen receptor inhibitors in older men with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. We aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of second-generation androgen receptor inhibitors in men aged 80 years or older with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Methods: We searched for all randomised controlled clinical trials evaluating second-generation androgen receptor inhibitors in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration before Aug 15, 2020, and pooled data from three trials that met the selection criteria.

Therapy-Induced Senescence: Opportunities to Improve Anticancer Therapy.

Cellular senescence is an essential tumor suppressive mechanism that prevents the propagation of oncogenically activated, genetically unstable, and/or damaged cells. Induction of tumor cell senescence is also one of the underlying mechanisms by which cancer therapies exert antitumor activity. However, an increasing body of evidence from preclinical studies demonstrates that radiation and chemotherapy cause accumulation of senescent cells (SnCs) both in tumor and normal tissue.

Hypofractionated Postprostatectomy Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer to Reduce Toxicity and Improve Patient Convenience: A Phase 1/2 Trial.

Purpose: The phase 1 portion of this multicenter, phase 1/2 study of hypofractionated (HypoFx) prostate bed radiation therapy (RT) as salvage or adjuvant therapy aimed to identify the shortest dose-fractionation schedule with acceptable toxicity. The phase 2 portion aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (QoL) of using this HypoFx regimen.

Methods And Materials: Eligibility included standard adjuvant or salvage prostate bed RT indications.

FDA Approval Summary: Rucaparib for the Treatment of Patients with Deleterious BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to rucaparib in May 2020 for the treatment of adult patients with deleterious BRCA mutation (germline and/or somatic)-associated metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have been treated with androgen receptor-directed therapy and a taxane.

Moderately Hypofractionated Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy With Simultaneous Integrated Boost for Prostate Cancer: Five-Year Toxicity Results From a Prospective Phase I/II Trial.

Background: In this phase I/II trial, 5-year physician-assessed toxicity and patient reported quality of life data is reported for patients undergoing moderately hypofractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer using a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) and pelvic lymph node (LN) coverage.

Materials And Methods: Patients with T1-T2 localized prostate cancer were prospectively enrolled, receiving risk group based coverage of prostate ± seminal vesicles (SVs) ± pelvic lymph nodes (LNs). Low risk (LR) received 69.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for the Definitive Treatment of Early Stage Kidney Cancer: A Survival Comparison With Surgery, Tumor Ablation, and Observation.

Purpose: Partial nephrectomy is the preferred definitive treatment for early stage kidney cancer, with tumor ablative techniques or active surveillance reserved for patients not undergoing surgery. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a potential noninvasive alternative for patients with early stage kidney cancer not amenable to surgery, with early reports suggesting excellent rates of local control and limited toxicity.

Methods And Materials: The national cancer database from 2004 to 2014 was queried for patients who received a diagnosis of T1N0M0 kidney cancer.

Quality comparison between three-dimensional T2-weighted SPACE and two-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin echo magnetic resonance images for the brachytherapy planning evaluation of prostate and periprostatic anatomy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare an isotropic three-dimensional (3D) T2-weighted sequence sampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts by using flip angle evolution (SPACE) with an axial two-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence with regard to overall image quality and the delineation of normal prostate and periprostatic anatomy for low-dose-rate prostate cancer brachytherapy planning evaluation.

Methods And Materials: Patients (n = 69) with prostate cancer who had pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for low-dose-rate brachytherapy treatment planning were included. Three radiologists independently assessed the visibility of nine anatomic structures on each sequence by using a 5-point scale and overall image quality by using a 4-point scale.

Increased Frequency of Mesorectal and Perirectal LN Involvement in T4 Prostate Cancers.

Purpose: Patients with prostate cancer presenting with advanced T stage, mainly T4, might have a unique pattern of nodal failure and disease involvement that is not typically covered when local therapy is offered. We attempted to identify common sites of nodal disease presentation and failure for patients presenting with cT4 prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: All patients with treatment-naïve cT4 prostate cancer were retrospectively identified.

Costs and Complications After a Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Treated With Time-Efficient Modalities: An Analysis of National Medicare Data.

Purpose: Recent trends in payer and patient preferences increasingly incentivize time-efficient (≤2-week treatment time) prostate cancer treatments.

Methods And Materials: National Medicare claims from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2014, were analyzed to identify newly diagnosed prostate cancers. Three "radical treatment" cohorts were identified (prostatectomy, brachytherapy, and stereotactic body radiation therapy [SBRT]) and matched to an active surveillance (AS) cohort by using inverse probability treatment weighting via propensity score.

Association of Sociodemographic and Health-Related Factors With Receipt of Nondefinitive Therapy Among Younger Men With High-Risk Prostate Cancer.

Importance: Multiple randomized clinical trials have shown that definitive therapy improves overall survival among patients with high-risk prostate cancer. However, many patients do not receive definitive therapy because of sociodemographic and health-related factors.

Objective: To identify factors associated with receipt of nondefinitive therapy (NDT) among patients aged 70 years and younger with high-risk prostate cancer.

MRI-assisted radiosurgery: A quality assurance nomogram for palladium-103 and iodine-125 prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: We sought to develop an activity nomogram for magnetic resonance (MR)-planned permanent seed prostate brachytherapy to improve quality assurance through a secondary dosimetric check.

Methods And Materials: Patients undergoing MRI-assisted radiosurgery (MARS), whereby MRI is used for preoperative planning and postimplant dosimetry, were reviewed from May 2016 to September 2018. Planned activity (U) was fitted by MR-prostate volume (cc) via simple linear regression.

Contemporary prostate cancer treatment choices in multidisciplinary clinics referenced to national trends.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess treatment choices among men with prostate cancer who presented at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center multidisciplinary (MultiD) clinic compared with nationwide trends.

Methods: In total, 4451 men with prostate cancer who presented at the MultiD clinic from 2004 to 2016 were analyzed. To assess nationwide trends, the authors analyzed 392,710 men with prostate cancer who were diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Dose Escalation for Prostate Adenocarcinoma: A Long-Term Update on the Outcomes of a Phase 3, Single Institution Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: To determine the long-term outcomes for prostate adenocarcinoma when escalating radiation dose from 70 Gy to 78 Gy.

Methods And Materials: Between 1993 and 1998, 301 patients with biopsy-proven clinical stage T1b-T3 prostate adenocarcinoma, any prostate-specific antigen level, and any Gleason score were randomized to 70 Gy in 35 fractions versus 78 Gy in 39 fractions of photon radiation therapy using a 4-field box technique without hormone deprivation therapy. The primary outcome was powered to detect a 15% difference in biochemical or clinical failure.

Analysis of the 2017 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Research Portfolio.

Purpose: Research in radiation oncology (RO) is imperative to support the discovery of new uses of radiation and improvement of current approaches to radiation delivery and to foster the continued evolution of our field. Therefore, in 2016, the American Society of Radiation Oncology performed an evaluation of research grant funding for RO.

Methods And Materials: Members of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiation Oncology Programs (SCAROP) were asked about funded and unfunded grants that were submitted by their departments between the fiscal years 2014 and 2016.

Parallel imaging compressed sensing for accelerated imaging and improved signal-to-noise ratio in MRI-based postimplant dosimetry of prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of using parallel imaging compressed sensing (PICS) to reduce scan time and improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in MRI-based postimplant dosimetry of prostate brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: Ten patients underwent low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy with radioactive seeds stranded with positive magnetic resonance-signal seed markers and were scanned on a Siemens 1.5T Aera.

Management of metastatic spinal cord compression among Veterans Health Administration radiation oncologists.

Background: Optimal management of metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) improves functional outcomes in patients with metastatic disease. This survey study evaluated management of MSCC by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) radiation oncologists (ROs), to determine whether management of MSCC correlates with American College of Radiology (ACR) guidelines, and to compare times to initiation of treatment between surgery and radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: Surveys emailed to 79 VHA ROs included questions on steroid use, surgical care, palliative care, fractionation of irradiation, re-irradiation, and management of common MSCC case scenarios.