Vratislav Strnad, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital in Erlangen, discusses results from a European study comparing accelerated partial-breast irradiation using brachytherapy, to the standard treatment of whole-breast irradiation for women with low-risk breast cancer (Abstract LBA7).
Jay Harris, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, discusses the difficulty reconciling recent important trials on radiotherapy for breast cancer: The Z11 trial suggested that breast tangents are sufficient, while MA.20 and EORTC studies suggested that full nodal irradiation is beneficial.
Leonard Gunderson, MD, of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, discusses PET/CT imaging in upper and lower gastrointestinal cancers, which can be of value as a baseline study prior to treatment, in determining the degree of response to treatment, and in helping decide whether there is a relapse after a complete response to treatment.
Bridgett Harr, CNP, of Cleveland Clinic, discusses the advanced practice nurse follow-up clinic, which focuses on symptom management in the first 90 days postchemoradiation (Abstract 3169).
Anthony Zietman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses his perspective on the study of bicalutamide during and after radiotherapy in patients following radical prostatectomy and a biochemical relapse (Abstract LBA5).
Brian D. Kavanagh, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, summarizes three papers: outcomes for locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer, 3D CRT vs image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy for reducing bowel toxicity, and dexamethasone for controlling pain flares in patients with bone metastases (Abstracts 2, 8, LBA6663).
