Newswise — Penn Medicine radiation oncologists will present over 20 abstracts at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO) 56th Annual Meeting at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, September 14 to September 17.

Experts from Penn Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology and Penn’s Roberts Proton Therapy Center are available to comment on a wide range of research topics both on site during the meeting and by telephone or email. To arrange interviews, please contact Steve Graff at [email protected] or 215-301-5221. Follow us on Twitter at @PennMedNews.

Penn Medicine Announcement and Abstract News BriefsPenn Medicine Radiation Oncologist Named Among 2014 ASTRO Fellows

Andre A. Konski, MD, MBA, MA FACR, medical director of the department of Radiation Oncology at Chester County Hospital and professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology in the department of Radiation Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named among the 30 Fellows of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (FASTRO). Read the full announcement here.

Proton Beam Therapy May Be Better Retreatment Option for Some Esophageal Cancer Patients

Esophageal cancer patients who require re-irradiation may benefit from proton therapy when conventional therapy is not an option, Penn Medicine researchers report in an abstract presented at ASTRO’s 56th ASTRO Annual Meeting on September 15 during a poster session from 10 am to 5 pm. Re-irradiation to the thorax and esophagus carries the risk of radiation-induced complications, so alternative options to minimize such are needed. Proton therapy may offer up an advantage because of the potential sparing of normal tissue. In a small study, researchers found that re-irradiation of esophageal cancer with proton achieved disease control in some patients. The abstract will be presented by Annemarie Fernandes, MD, chief resident in the department of Radiation Oncology, and can be found be here.

Unnecessary Radiation for Patients with Bone Metastases Still a Problem, Despite Evidence and New Guidelines

Despite randomized clinical trials and professional society recommendations endorsing single treatment radiation (also known as single fraction radiation) to treat painful tumors that have spread to patients’ bones, many patients still receive more than 10 fractions of the treatment. Researchers from Penn Medicine report their findings at ASTRO's 56th Annual Meeting to be presented on September 16 (room 123/134 at 1:00 pm) during a Health Services Research scientific session. Last year, Justin Bekelman, MD, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, and colleagues showed in a JAMA study that many patients from 2006 to 2009 received more than a single fraction unnecessarily. This latest review of cases between 2006 to 2012, which he will present at the meeting, revealed the trend has not changed, despite new guidelines from ASTRO supporting the use of single fraction in 2011. Among over 5,000 patients, just four percent received a single fraction to treat bone metastases. Over 10 percent received two or more, while 55 percent had over 10 fractions. Treating patients more than once is more inconvenient for them and drives up health care costs unnecessarily, the authors report. “Increased use of single fraction treatment would achieve the Holy Grail of health reform, which is real improvements in patient care at substantial cost savings,” Bekelman said. The abstract can be found here.

For more information, please read the news release from 2013: “When More Medicine Isn't Always Better: Penn Study Reveals High Costs of Unnecessary Radiation Treatments for Terminal Cancer Patients”