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Purpose: Ensuring high quality, evidence-based radiation therapy for patients is of the upmost importance. As a part of the largest integrated health system in America, the Department of Veterans Affairs National Radiation Oncology Program (VA-NROP) established a quality surveillance initiative to address the challenge and necessity of providing the highest quality of care for veterans treated for cancer., Methods and Materials: As part of this initiative, the VA-NROP contracted with the American Society for Radiation Oncology to commission 5 Blue Ribbon Panels for lung, prostate, rectal, breast, and head and neck cancers experts. This group worked collaboratively with the VA-NROP to develop consensus quality measures. In addition to the site-specific measures, an additional Blue Ribbon Panel comprised of the chairs and other members of the disease sites was formed to create 18 harmonized quality measures for all 5 sites (13 quality, 4 surveillance, and 1 aspirational)., Conclusions: The VA-NROP and American Society for Radiation Oncology collaboration have created quality measures spanning 5 disease sites to help improve patient outcomes. These will be used for the ongoing quality surveillance of veterans receiving radiation therapy through the VA and its community partners., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) is a mainstay of cancer care, and accumulating evidence suggests the potential for synergism with components of the immune response. However, few data describe the tumor immune contexture in relation to RT sensitivity. To address this challenge, we used the radiation sensitivity index (RSI) gene signature to estimate the RT sensitivity of >10,000 primary tumors and characterized their immune microenvironments in relation to the RSI., Methods and Materials: We analyzed gene expression profiles of 10,469 primary tumors (31 types) within a prospective tissue collection protocol. The RT sensitivity of each tumor was estimated by the RSI and respective distributions were characterized. The tumor biology measured by the RSI was evaluated by differentially expressed genes combined with single sample gene set enrichment analysis. Differences in the expression of immune regulatory molecules were assessed and deconvolution algorithms were used to estimate immune cell infiltrates in relation to the RSI. A subset (n = 2368) of tumors underwent DNA sequencing for mutational frequency characterization., Results: We identified a wide range of RSI values within and across various tumor types, with several demonstrating nonunimodal distributions (eg, colon, renal, lung, prostate, esophagus, pancreas, and PAM50 breast subtypes; P < .05). Across all tumor types, stratifying RSI at a tumor type-specific median identified 7148 differentially expressed genes, of which 146 were coordinate in direction. Network topology analysis demonstrates RSI measures a coordinated STAT1, IRF1, and CCL4/MIP-1β transcriptional network. Tumors with an estimated high sensitivity to RT demonstrated distinct enrichment of interferon-associated signaling pathways and immune cell infiltrates (eg, CD8 + T cells, activated natural killer cells, M1-macrophages; q < 0.05), which was in the context of diverse expression patterns of various immunoregulatory molecules., Conclusions: This analysis describes the immune microenvironments of patient tumors in relation to the RSI gene expression signature., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cancer care coordination across major academic medical centers and their networks is evolving rapidly, but the spectrum of organizational efforts has not been described. We conducted a mixed-methods survey of leading cancer centers and their networks to document care coordination and identify opportunities to improve geographically dispersed care., Methods: A mixed-methods survey was sent to 91 cancer centers in the United States and Canada. We analyzed the number and locations of network sites; access to electronic medical records (EMRs); clinical research support and participation at networks; use of patient navigators, care paths, and quality measures; and physician workforce. Responses were collected via Qualtrics software between September 2017 and December 2018., Results: Of the 69 responding cancer centers, 74% were NCI-designated. Eighty-seven percent of respondents were part of a matrix health system, and 13% were freestanding. Fifty-six reported having network sites. Forty-three respondents use navigators for disease-specific populations, and 24 use them for all patients. Thirty-five respondents use ≥1 types of care path. Fifty-seven percent of networks had complete, integrated access to their main center's EMRs. Thirty-nine respondents said the main center provides funding for clinical research at networks, with 22 reporting the main center provides all funding. Thirty-five said the main center provided pharmacy support at the networks, with 15 indicating the main center provides 100% pharmacy support. Certification program participation varied extensively across networks., Conclusions: The data show academic cancer centers have extensive involvement in network cancer care, often extending into rural communities. Coordinating care through improved clinical trial access and greater use of patient navigation, care paths, coordinated EMRs, and quality measures is likely to improve patient outcomes. Although it is premature to draw firm conclusions, the survey results are appropriate for mapping next steps and data queries.

Emergence of the COVID-19 crisis has catalyzed rapid paradigm shifts throughout medicine. Even after the initial wave of the virus subsides, a wholesale return to the prior status quo is not prudent. As a specialty that values the proper application of new technology, radiation oncology should strive to be at the forefront of harnessing telehealth as an important tool to further optimize patient care. We remain cognizant that telehealth cannot and should not be a comprehensive replacement for in-person patient visits because it is not a one for one replacement, dependent on the intention of the visit and patient preference. However, we envision the opportunity for the virtual patient "room" where multidisciplinary care may take place from every specialty. How we adapt is not an inevitability, but instead, an opportunity to shape the ideal image of our new normal through the choices that we make. We have made great strides toward genuine multidisciplinary patient-centered care, but the continued use of telehealth and virtual visits can bring us closer to optimally arranging the spokes of the provider team members around the central hub of the patient as we progress down the road through treatment.

In current radiation oncology practice, treatment protocols are prescribed based on the average outcomes of large clinical trials, with limited personalization and without adaptations of dose or dose fractionation to individual patients based on their individual clinical responses. Predicting tumor responses to radiation and comparing predictions against observed responses offers an opportunity for novel treatment evaluation. These analyses can lead to protocol adaptation aimed at the improvement of patient outcomes with better therapeutic ratios. We foresee the integration of mathematical models into radiation oncology to simulate individual patient tumor growth and predict treatment response as dynamic biomarkers for personalized adaptive radiation therapy (RT)., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Early-stage cancers are routinely treated with surgery followed by radiotherapy (SR). Radiotherapy before surgery (RS) has been widely ignored for some cancers. We evaluate overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) with SR and RS for different cancer types and simulate the plausibility of RS- and SR-induced antitumor immunity contributing to outcomes., Materials and Methods: We analyzed a SEER data set of early-stage cancers treated with SR or RS. OS and DFS were calculated for cancers with sufficient numbers for statistical power (cancers of lung and bronchus, esophagus, rectum, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, and breast). We simulated the immunologic consequences of SR, RS, and radiotherapy alone in a mathematical model of tumor-immune interactions., Results: RS improved OS for cancers with low 20-year survival rates (lung: hazard ratio [HR], 0.88; P = .046) and improved DFS for cancers with higher survival (breast: HR = 0.64; P < .001). For rectal cancer, with intermediate 20-year survival, RS improved both OS (HR = 0.89; P = .006) and DFS (HR = 0.86; P = .04). Model simulations suggested that RS could increase OS by eliminating cancer for a broader range of model parameters and radiotherapy-induced antitumor immunity compared with SR for selected parameter combinations. This could create an immune memory that may explain increased DFS after RS for certain cancers., Conclusion: Study results suggest plausibility that radiation to the bulk of the tumor could induce a more robust immune response and better harness the synergy of radiotherapy and antitumor immunity than postsurgical radiation to the tumor bed. This exploratory study provides motivation for prospective evaluation of immune activation of RS versus SR in controlled clinical studies.

Complex interactions occur between tumor and host immune system at each site in the metastatic setting, the outcome of which can determine behavior ranging from dormancy to rapid growth. An additional layer of complexity arises from the understanding that cytotoxic T cells can traffic through the host circulatory system. Coupling mathematical models of local tumor-immune dynamics and systemic T cell trafficking allows us to simulate the evolution of tumor and immune cell populations in anatomically distant sites following local therapy and thus computationally evaluate immune interconnectivity. Results suggest that the presence of a secondary site may either inhibit or promote growth of the primary, depending on the capacity for immune recruitment of each tumor and the resulting systemic redistribution of T cells. Treatment such as surgical resection and radiotherapy can be simulated to estimate both the decrease in tumor volume at the local treatment-targeted site, and the change in overall tumor burden and tumor growth trajectories across all sites. Qualitatively similar responses of distant tumors to local therapy (positive and negative abscopal effects) to those reported in the clinical setting were observed. Such findings may facilitate an improved understanding of general disease kinetics in the metastatic setting: if metastatic sites are interconnected through the immune system, truly local therapy does not exist.

Brachytherapy consists of placing radioactive sources within, or directly adjacent to a tumor, and is a means of delivering highly targeted and conformal radiation. While its history dates back to the origins of the field, in recent years brachytherapy treatment paradigms have been evolving considerably. This has been driven primarily by advancements in imaging, which allow for precise placement of sources and applicators under image guidance, and volume-based optimization to ensure adequate tumor coverage while sparing adjacent normal tissue. There has been a shift towards high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for many of the disease sites treated with brachytherapy. Simultaneously, with increasingly conformal treatment, there has been a shift towards utilization of higher doses per fraction, over fewer fractions, for specific disease sites where hypofractionation is believed to confer a radiobiological benefit. Here we review recent data and trends for those disease sites and conditions that are commonly treated with brachytherapy, including prostate, gynecologic, breast, head and neck, and skin cancers and salvage of recurrent disease., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this Review, we summarise recent published work on the use of intraoperative radiotherapy to treat common tumour sites in the primary or recurrent setting. Techniques, radiobiology, and the physics of intraoperative radiotherapy are also explored. Disease sites discussed in this Review include head and neck cancer, breast cancer, sarcoma, gastrointestinal cancer, genitourinary cancer, gynaecological cancer, thoracic cancer, and palliative applications., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the cost impact of an integrative medicine intervention on an inpatient oncology service., Study Design: This study used nonrandomized, nonequivalent groups. A baseline sample of inpatient oncology patients at Beth Israel Medical Center admitted to the medical oncology unit before implementation of the Urban Zen Initiative were compared with patients admitted after the Urban Zen Initiative was in place., Methods: The Urban Zen Initiative incorporated yoga therapy, holistic nursing techniques, and a "healing environment" into routine inpatient oncology care. Length of stay and medication use data were extracted from Beth Israel's decision support electronic database. We compared length of stay, total medication costs, and costs of as-needed medications for both groups: the baseline sample of inpatient oncology patients and patients exposed to the Urban Zen healing environment initiative., Results: We had complete cost data on 85 patients in our baseline group and 72 in our intervention group. We found no difference in length of stay between the 2 groups. We found a significant decrease in use of antiemetic, anxiolytic, and hypnotic medication costs as well as a decrease in total medication costs in the Urban Zen sample compared with the baseline group., Conclusions: An integrative medicine approach including yoga therapy, holistic nursing, and a healing environment in the inpatient setting can decrease use of medications, resulting in substantial cost savings for hospitals in the care of oncology patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Urban Zen Initiative, an "optimal healing environment" intervention, at Beth Israel Medical Center on both quantitative and qualitative measures of the experience of patients admitted for inpatient oncology care., Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used comparing a baseline sample of patients admitted to the oncology floor before the intervention to a similar group admitted during the intervention. Data collected included the Profile of Mood States, the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and, on a subset of patients, a semistructured qualitative interview., Results: Patients in the intervention group experienced significantly less emotional distress during their stay when compared to patients in the baseline group. There were also significantly greater improvements in pain and discomfort during the stay in the treatment group as compared to controls. The qualitative analysis described a number of possible explanations for this change including increased sense of connection and control as well as specific techniques for symptom relief., Conclusions: It is possible to improve the experience of patients admitted for inpatient cancer care with a "healing environment" intervention. Further studies are needed that incorporate randomized design and the ability to examine specific components of the intervention independently as well as the impact of the intervention as a whole.

As the antitumor activity of radiation is mediated via its interaction with oxygen to form labile free radicals, the intratumoral oxygen level has an important influence on the ability of radiation therapy to kill malignant cells. By decreasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, anemia may result in tumor hypoxia and may have a negative influence on the outcome of radiotherapy for various malignancies, even for small tumors not normally assumed to be hypoxic. In addition, anemia also has a negative effect on the quality of life of cancer patients, as evidenced by worsening fatigue. As a high proportion (about 50%) of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy are anemic prior to or during treatment, strategies to correct anemia and/or the resultant tumor hypoxia are increasingly being considered an important component of treatment. In particular, epoetin alfa (recombinant human erythropoietin), which has proved an effective and well-tolerated means of raising hemoglobin levels in anemic patients receiving radiotherapy, potentially could reverse the negative prognostic influence of a low hemoglobin in patients with certain malignancies. Radiation oncologists need to be aware of the possibility of anemia in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy so that timely intervention can be instituted whenever anemia is diagnosed., (Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel)

Intraoperative irradiation (IORT) refers to the delivery of a single high dose of radiation therapy at the time of surgery when the tumor bed can be precisely defined and adjacent normal tissue maximally protected. It can be effectively delivered using either electrons (IOERT) or photons produced from a high-dose-rate gamma emitting radioisotope (HDR-IORT) and has been explored primarily for locally advanced or recurrent tumors at high risk for local failure despite extensive resection and full dose external beam radiation. With coordinated multidisciplinary interaction, IORT can be integrated in a combined-modality setting without undue additional toxicity. The purpose of this review will be to summarize the growing HDR-IORT experience in the treatment of various cancers, to compare its efficacy and toxicity vis a vis the IOERT data, and to discuss future trials as well as new areas of potential application., (Copyright 2002 by W.B. Saunders Company)