"We looked at one of the largest clinical trials ever done for locally-advanced NSCLC and found that the most important factors associated with severe pneumonitis were IMRT technique and the lung V20. The low dose bath such as the lung V5 was not associated with any toxicity outcome. These findings have the potential to fundamentally change the way we deliver radiation therapy for locally-advanced lung cancer," said Stephen Chun, MD, lead author of the study and Fellow in the Department of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "By reducing severe life threatening pneumonitis, IMRT has the potential to improve patients' quality of life, reduce hospital/intensive care unit admissions, and decrease supplemental oxygen use. In our study, it seemed that IMRT might also facilitate patients being able to tolerate higher doses of consolidative chemotherapy which are standard after radiation."

The abstract, "Comparison of 3-D Conformal and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Outcomes for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in NRG Oncology/RTOG 0617" will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTRO's 57th Annual Meeting at 3:15 p.m. Central time on Sunday, October 18, 2015. To speak with Dr. Chun, please call ASTRO's Press Office at the Henry B. González Convention Center, in San Antonio on October 18 – 21, 2015 at 210-258-8104 or 210-258-8105, or email press@astro.org.


ASTRO's 57th Annual Meeting, being held at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, October 18-21, 2015, is the nation's premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology. The 2015 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees including oncologists from all disciplines, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses and nurse practitioners, biologists, physician assistants, practice administrators, industry representatives and other health care professionals from around the world. Led by ASTRO President Bruce D. Minsky, MD, FASTRO, a radiation oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal cancers, Professor of Radiation Oncology, and the Frank T. McGraw Memorial Chair at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, the theme of the 2015 Meeting is "Technology Meets Patient Care." Dr. Minsky's Presidential Symposium, "Multidisciplinary Management of Esophageal and Rectal Cancers," will feature Leonard L. Gunderson, MD, MS, FASTRO, and Joel E. Tepper, MD, FASTRO, to highlight imaging, staging, genomics and data mining approaches, as well as the latest advances in esophageal and colorectal cancer treatment. ASTRO's four-day scientific meeting includes presentation of more than 2,100 abstracts: five plenary papers, 351 oral presentations, 1,609 posters and 171 digital posters in more than 53 educational sessions and 26 scientific panels for 20 disease-site tracks. Three keynote speakers will address a range of topics including cancer biology in radiation oncology, the essential roles of a physician, and patient safety: Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, Professor and Director, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology; Francisco G. Cigarroa, MD, Past President and Chancellor, University of Texas; and Gerald B. Hickson, MD, Senior Vice President and Assistant Vice Chancellor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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