Astro Journals

Issue Highlights January 1, 2021

Issue Highlights December 1, 2020

Issue Highlights November 15, 2020

As part of the new featured section of the Red Journal, Statistics for the People, Deputy Editor Sue Yom, MD, PhD, hosts an in-depth discussion on the use of propensity scores with Beow Yeap, ScD, David Cheng, PhD, and Red Journal methodology editor David Sher, MD.

Issue Highlights November 1, 2020

As part of the Red Journal’s special issue focused on COVID-19 and its impact on Radiation Oncology, the October 2020 Issue Highlights podcast has been produced in conjunction with the Virtual Visiting Professor Network. The podcast is hosted by Editor-in-Chief Anthony Zietman, MD, FASTRO and Deputy Editor Sue Yom, MD, PhD, and features guests Paul Volberding, MD, and Daphne Haas-Kogan, MD. Drs. Volberding and Haas-Kogan share their stories of working with patients with HIV, and reflect upon parallels to today's COVID-19 pandemic.

Wesley Talcott, MD, and Sue Evans, MD, MPH join PRO Senior Editor Bhisham Chera, MD, to discuss their article “A Blinded, Prospective Study of Error Detection During Physician Chart Rounds in Radiation Oncology .” The authors discuss their motivation for the study, how plan review and chart rounds can be more effective, and more. Also available in the September-October 2020 issue of PRO is an accompanying editorial by Dr. Chera, “Restructuring our approach to peer review: a critical need to improve the quality and safety of radiation therapy .” For those interested in expanding their peer review pool, see the new ASTRO Peer-to-Peer Match program, a user-driven platform that facilitates the establishment of relationships for the purpose of peer review of patient cases.

In conjunction with the special September issue of the Red Journal, Silvia Chiara Formenti, MD, FASTRO joins Editor-in-Chief Anthony Zietman, MD, FASTRO to discuss the latest developments in immunotherapy as they relates to radiation oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors, the abscopal effect, and how these changes could affect the future of the field.

The August 1st Red Journal podcast features a discussion of Black representation in radiation oncology. Guest panelists include Curtiland Deville, Jr., MD, of Johns Hopkins University; Iris Gibbs, MD, FACR, FASTRO, of Stanford University; Chelsea Pinnix, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and special guest Freeman Hrabowski III, PhD, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This wide-ranging discussion about rationale and strategies related to diversity, representation and equity is moderated by Red Journal Deputy Editor Sue Yom, MD, PhD of the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Deville and Dr. Gibbs are the first and senior authors, respectively, on a recently published article in the Red Journal, "I Can't Breathe: The Continued, Disproportionate Exclusion of Black Physicians in the United States Radiation Oncology Workforce" and co-authors of "Why Racial Justice Matters in Radiation Oncology," an article recently published in Advances in Radiation Oncology.

Issue Highlights July 15, 2020

Issue Highlights July 1, 2020

Issue Highlights June 1, 2020

Issue Highlights May 1, 2020

Thomas Eichler, MD, FASTRO discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on radiation oncology clinics, providers, and patients. This podcast includes answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by ASTRO members regarding how to manage patient care, staffing concerns, and more. This information was compiled by a workgroup comprised of volunteers from academic and community cancer centers. The FAQs are available on the ASTRO website’s Daily Practice page with supporting evidence and sources linked. The ASTRO journals are also publishing papers related to COVID-19 and radiation oncology which are available as part of ASTRO’s COVID-19 resources. Please note this information is intended as guidance only and is not medical or legal advice and is not intended to be used for diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions.

Issue Highlights April 1, 2020

There are few fully accrued contemporary studies that randomize patients to surgery or radiation for curative treatment of a solid tumor. Featured in the April 1 Oncology Scan, the ORATOR 1 clinical trial is one such study of head and neck (H&N) cancer that compared primary transoral robotic surgery (TORS) versus radiation therapy (RT) for treatment of oropharynx cancer, with a patient reported quality of life primary endpoint. Join Red Journal Associate Editor Danielle Margalit, MD as she discusses the trial with authors Anthony Nichols, MD, FRCSC, FACS and David Palma, MD, PhD, FRCPC, and with special guest, Kate Hutcheson, PhD, speech pathologist and expert in patient reported outcome assessment. The ORATOR 1 trial provides information for patient counseling and decision-making when considering the 'trade-offs' of different treatment modalities.

Issue Highlights March 15, 2020

Issue Highlights March 1, 2020

Issue Highlights February 1, 2020

Cancer patients often ring a bell to commemorate the end of treatment – but until now, the many effects of ringing the bell have not been studied. Patrick Williams, MD and Richard Jennelle, MD, authors of "The Cancer Bell: Too Much of a Good Thing?" discuss their recent article and the surprising results reported within. Psychologist Dr. Andrea Bonior talks about ways that emotional arousal and individual patient desires can factor into the memory of treatment distress. Cancer survivor Valerie Powell tells her story of ringing the bell, what it meant to her at the time, and how she looks back on that experience now.