Howard M. Sandler, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses whether hypofractionation can be safely employed in the post-prostatectomy setting and the role of short-term hormone therapy in the management of intermediate-risk prostate cancer with radiotherapy.
David A. Palma, MD, PhD, of Ontario’s London Health Sciences Centre, discusses results of the ORATOR2 study, which compared two treatment options that could be de-escalated for patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a lower-dose radiation approach (6 weeks instead of 7, often with chemotherapy) vs a transoral surgical approach (with low-dose radiation afterward, for 5 weeks) (Abstract LBA2).
Yongbae Kim, MD, of the Yonsei Cancer Center and Yonsei University College of Medicine, discusses findings that showed the use of internal mammary area irradiation (IMNI) in regional nodal irradiation did not significantly improve disease-free survival for women with node-positive breast cancer. However, patients with medially or centrally located tumors may be considered for treatment with IMNI (Abstract 2).
Amar U. Kishan, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses findings from a meta-analysis of clinical trials in patients with localized prostate cancer. The phase III results suggest that the use of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) or prolonged adjuvant ADT with radiotherapy may benefit patients with localized prostate cancer. Further biomarkers are needed to better personalize treatment intensification (Abstract 8).
Matthew Manning, MD, of Cone Health Cancer Center, discusses findings that showed changes to the way cancer care is delivered may help eliminate racial disparities in survival among patients with early-stage lung and breast cancers. Identifying and addressing obstacles that kept patients from finishing radiation treatments for cancer were associated with improved 5-year survival rates for all patients (Abstract 53).
Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who co-chaired a session (PS 02) on digital health, summarizes the talks, which included ways to reduce disparities with digital innovations and the importance of patient input, especially in the form of patient-reported outcomes and experience measures. Advancing digital health, which the FDA defines as including health information technology, telemedicine, and personalized medicine, can potentially improve cancer care.
