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A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) provides guidance on the use of definitive local therapy—including radiation and surgery—to treat patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The guideline is published in Practical Radiation Oncology.

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The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued the following statement from Geraldine M. Jacobson, MD, MBA, MPH, FASTRO, Board of Directors Chair, in response to yesterday’s final rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that revises the Medicare Advantage prior authorization process.

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A new analysis of the U.S. radiation oncology workforce projects a relative balance between the supply of radiation oncologists and the demand for radiation therapy services through 2030. The report was produced by Health Management Associates (HMA), a consulting firm commissioned by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). It accompanies a review commentary from the ASTRO Workforce Task Force published as an article-in-press today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics.

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A new study finds that recent increases in Medicare spending on outpatient cancer care at the end of patients’ lives were driven almost entirely by a type of treatment given to fewer than 1 in 5 patients. Analyzing Medicare Part B claims data for 84,744 beneficiaries, researchers found that spending for this type of care rose 12% from 2015 to 2019, and that payments for immunotherapy drug costs accounted for 84% of the net increase. The study is published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics.

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Age-based heuristics can lead to large differences in breast cancer treatment based on small differences in chronologic age, according to a new analysis of more than 500,000 patient records. Patients aged 70 were nearly twice as likely to be passed over for standard-of-care radiation as those aged 69. There were no similar gaps between other age pairs. The study is among the first to demonstrate an age cutoff heuristic in oncology.

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The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued the following statement from ASTRO Board of Directors Chair Geraldine Jacobson, MD, MBA, MPH, FASTRO, in response to today’s release of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

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A newly updated clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides recommendations on the use of radiation therapy and systemic therapy after surgery to treat patients with endometrial cancer. The guideline also considers the role of surgical staging and molecular profiling techniques in determining whether a patient should receive post-operative therapy. The guideline is published in the January/February 2023 issue of Practical Radiation Oncology.

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The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2022 Gold Medal awards, its inaugural mentorship award and other high-profile honors during an awards ceremony yesterday at the 64th ASTRO Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

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A new study offers a new option to patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer who want relief from hormone therapy without compromising the risk of their disease spreading. In the study, patients who received radiation in addition to intermittent hormone therapy lived longer without their disease progressing, and they were able to take longer breaks from the drug treatments. Results of the phase II trial (EXTEND; NCT03599765) will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

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A three-week course of radiation therapy is as safe and effective as four to six weeks of treatment for patients with early-stage breast cancer who have a higher risk of having their tumors recur, results of a randomized phase III clinical trial show. Delivering fewer, but higher, doses of radiation following lumpectomy, while concurrently delivering a radiation boost to the surgical site, led to similar outcomes as a longer course of treatment.

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In the face of conflicting evidence over the risks and benefits of routine prostate cancer screenings, a large, longitudinal analysis found Veterans Health Administration (VA) medical centers with lower prostate screening rates had higher rates of metastatic prostate cancer cases in subsequent years than centers with higher screening rates.

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Adding radiation therapy to systemic therapy for patients with advanced liver cancer can extend overall survival and delay tumor progression without compromising patients’ quality of life, a randomized phase III clinical trial shows.

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An artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by researchers can predict the likelihood that a patient may have an unplanned hospitalization during their radiation treatments for cancer. The machine-learning model uses daily step counts as a proxy to monitor patients’ health as they go through cancer therapy, offering clinicians a real-time method to provide personalized care. Findings will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

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Treating high-risk, asymptomatic bone metastases with radiation may reduce painful complications and hospitalizations and possibly extend overall survival in people whose cancer has spread to multiple sites, a phase II clinical trial suggests. Results of the multicenter, randomized trial (NCT03523351) will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

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Meeting with a medical physicist who can explain how radiation therapy is planned and delivered reduces patient anxiety and increases patient satisfaction throughout the treatment process, according to a new study published today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. Findings of the randomized, prospective phase III clinical trial also will be presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

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FLASH radiation treatment – which delivers therapeutic doses of radiation in a fraction of a second – may hold promise as a potential treatment for tough-to-kill tumors, a first-in-human study in a small number of people with bone cancer suggests.

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A new randomized study confirms that men with high-risk prostate cancer can be treated with five versus eight weeks of radiation therapy.

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A new study finds that sexual side effects of cancer treatment are discussed far less frequently with female patients than with male patients, even when the treatment directly affects sex organs.

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The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) announced today the 10 studies that will be highlighted in the 2022 ASTRO Annual Meeting press program. Researchers will discuss their findings in two news briefings to be held October 24 and 25 in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio and via live webcast. Reporters can register for the meeting at astro.org/annualmeetingpress.