Data indicated that there was no difference in PFS between the subgroups (P=.503), validating the study's co-grouping of the patients into one prognostic category. The three-year PFS for Group 2 was 96 percent. One patient with a WHO grade II tumor died from the disease and one patient with a WHO grade I tumor died from an undetermined cause without disease progression.

Adverse events were scored using NCI common toxicity criteria, and the study specifically measured grade one or grade two adverse events. Among the 44 patients who received IMRT, four patients (9 percent) developed grade 2 acute adverse events, and 11 patients (25 percent) had grade 2 late adverse events.


"Our results have been the impetus for phase III trials and support the use of postoperative radiation for intermediate-risk meningiomas, in addition to documenting positive outcomes of using IMRT," said lead study author Leland Rogers, MD, professor in the radiation oncology department at Virginia Commonwealth University. "We are gaining knowledge about meningiomas at a more rapid pace. This study has shown we can successfully treat meningioma patients in a large, cooperative group setting and can achieve excellent outcomes with surgery and RT."

The abstract, "Intermediate-Risk Meningioma: Initial Outcomes from Nrg Oncology/RTOG-0539," will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTRO's 57th Annual Meeting at

1:15 p.m. Central time on Wednesday, October 21, 2015. To speak with Dr. Rogers, please call Nancy Mayes in 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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