http://www.oncology2009.org/

Dr Jatinder Palta, Ph.D. and Dr Najeeb Mohideen, M.D. will lead a Conformal Therapy Practicum and Workshop at the Oncology 2009 conference held in Kumarakom, India from April 23'rd to 26'th 2009. With the implementation of new radiotherapy equipment and planning systems throughout India, there is the great promise of moving from basic 2D planning and simple delivery techniques to highly sophisticated planning and delivery with IMRT and IGRT. The focus will be on how to use the technology to improve patient care and to use this in a safe and effective manner. The sessions will include teaching sessions on identifying target volumes for different sites, accounting for organ motion and other uncertainties, planning and delivery techniques with the  focus on the practical information on execution of these optimal plans, their verification and quality assurance.

2009 Advances in Technology: Practical Aspects on IMRT and Proton Therapy Symposium

Intensity modulated radiation therapy represents high-precision radiation therapy and requires a knowledge of multimodality imaging, set-up uncertainties and internal organ motion, tumor control probabilities, normal tissue complication probabilities, three-dimensional dose calculation and optimization, and dynamic beam delivery of nonuniform beam intensities. This process of planning and treatment delivery shows significant potential for further improving the therapeutic ratio and reducing toxicity. There is a great push to make this technology available for all cancer patients, but it does not come without a price and a risk. The price lies in the fact that IMRT utilizes expensive hardware, complex and voluminous multimodality imaging and planning data, and significant personnel resources. The risk lies in the fact that complex radiation therapy techniques can be misunderstood and misapplied, possibly resulting in excess tumor recurrences or excess complications that will negate the potential benefits of these technologies. Therefore, the task of safely and precisely implementing IMRT in radiation therapy clinics will require innovative and efficient methodologies of quality assurance and image guidance. The IMRT team includes radiation oncologists, physicists, radiation therapists, medical dosimetrists and nurses to effectively and safely administer IMRT treatment. Most IMRT planning and delivery systems are essentially first generation systems and are changing rapidly. These rapid changes require continued learning for members of the IMRT treatment delivery team. A professional faculty of radiation oncologists and physicists will aid both experienced radiation oncologists and newcomers to the field in understanding the nuances of IMRT and its safe implementation in the clinic setting.

Program Objectives

• Apply the most recent IMRT techniques of radiation therapy to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
• Identify appropriate target volumes and learn strategies for target volume and organ-at-risk expansion to account for geometric variations, organ motion and other uncertainties.
• Explain the clinical implication and potential pitfalls of IMRT.
• Acquire the practical information on execution of these optimal plans, their verification and quality assurance.
• Discuss different proton delivery systems.
• Summarize the intricacies of proton treatment planning and uncertainties.
• Discuss proton application to specific clinical sites including pediatric, skull base, thoracic and prostate cancers.

The 2000 computer learning lab focuses on the following sites and treatment:

This program will be held at the ASTRO Annual Meeting in Los Angeles and is designed to provide crucial clinical education for professionals to provide an opportunity to discuss issues such as imaging and target delineation, quality assurance and its frequency, and achievable accuracy in each major disease site. Participants have the opportunity to practice contouring and compare their contours to those of experienced professional faculty and technical support.

• Prostate Cancer
• Gynecological Cancer
• Head and Neck Cancer
• Lung Cancer   
• Breast Cancer
• Gastrointestinal Cancer

The objectives for the computer learning lab are to:

• Strengthen hands-on contouring skills.
• Practice contouring techniques with leading experts.
• Compare contours with leading experts.