Investigators from Montefiore and Einstein to present data at 2014 ASTRO Meeting

Presentations outline strategies for improving personalized cancer care and evaluating timing for radiotherapy planning and delivery

2014-09-11

(Press-News.org) NEW YORK (September 10, 2014) – Members of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University's NCI–designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center will present new study findings at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) revealing the impact socioeconomic status has on radiation treatment compliance, predictive indicators for clinical outcomes and on radiation therapy duration and dosing recommendations. ASTRO is being held September 14 – September 17 in San Francisco.

"Our team's abstracts focus on how to enhance radiation planning for locally-advanced cancers, particularly in the liver and lung, which represent approximately 250,000 new cancer diagnoses each year," said Shalom Kalnicki, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, MECCC and Einstein. "We will show the effect a patient's socioeconomic status has on radiotherapy compliance, a significant problem for many people across the country. These studies represent our commitment to overcoming treatment barriers and providing new hope to people impacted by cancer in all its forms."

This year's conference will feature oral abstracts and poster presentations made by nationally and internationally renowned radiation oncologists and physicists. Findings will focus on prognostic markers for clinical outcomes and refining personalized therapies for liver tumors, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancers and cervical cancer.

Following is a sample of Montefiore-Einstein studies to be presented at the meeting, which are embargoed until the time of presentation. Investigators are available for interviews specific to the data or to comment on topics of interest coming out of ASTRO 2014.

1. Socioeconomic Status and Radiotherapy Noncompliance in an Urban Academic Cancer Center – Presented by Madhur Garg, M.B., B.S., professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology, Einstein. Oral Presentation. Tuesday, September 16 at 2:30PM. Health Services Research 1, Presentation #136.

2. Local Control Following Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Liver Tumors: A Preliminary Report of the AAPM Working Group for SBRT – Presented by Wolfgang A. Tomé, Ph.D., FAAPM, DABR, professor of Radiation Oncology, Einstein and director of the Division of Medical Physics, Montefiore. Oral Presentation. Monday, September 15 at 4:15PM. GI 4 – Pancreas & Liver, Presentation #106.

3. Metabolic Tumor Volume on FDG-PET Predicts Clinical Outcomes Following Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Secondary Analysis – Presented by Nitin Ohri, M.D., assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, Einstein and attending physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore. Oral Presentation. Wednesday, September 17 at 3:00PM. Lung 4 – Lung Imaging and Locally Advanced Disease, Presentation #318.

4. Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell Transplantation Ameliorated Radiation-induced Liver Deformation And Sulfur Colloid SPECT Defect In Mouse Livers Following Partial Liver Irradiation – Presented by Rafi Kabarriti, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore. Oral Presentation. Sunday, September 14 at 1:15PM. Physics 1 – Imaging for Response Assessment. Presentation #1.

5. Does Systemic Therapy Matter After Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases from Lung Cancer? – Presented by Shyamal Patel, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore. Poster Presentation. Monday, September 15 at 5:30PM. Presentation #2229.

6. Clinical Outcomes Among Cervical Cancer Patients Treated with 3D Conformal Brachytherapy Treatment Planning: Does Prescribing to Tumor Volume Versus Point A Correspond to Equivalent Outcomes – Presented by Rebekah Young, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore. Poster Presentation. Monday, September 15 at 5:30PM. Presentation #2705.

INFORMATION: About Montefiore Medical Center As the University Hospital and academic medical center for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Recognized among the top hospitals nationally and regionally by U.S. News & World Report, Montefiore provides compassionate, patient- and family-centered care and educates the healthcare professionals of tomorrow. The Children's Hospital at Montefiore is consistently named in U.S. News' "America's Best Children's Hospitals." With four hospitals, 1,512 beds and more than 84,000 annual admissions, Montefiore is an integrated health system seamlessly linked by advanced technology. State-of-the-art primary and specialty care is provided through a network of more than 150 locations across the region, including the largest school health program in the nation and a home health program. Montefiore's partnership with Einstein advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. The medical center derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community, and continues to be on the frontlines of developing innovative approaches to care. For more information please visit http://www.montefiore.org and http://www.cham.org. Follow us on Twitter; like us on Facebook; view us on YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Einstein is home to 743 M.D. students, 275 Ph.D. students, 103 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 313 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2013, Einstein received more than $150 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Through its extensive affiliation network involving Montefiore, Jacobi Medical Center –- Einstein’s founding hospital, and three other hospital systems in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island, Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.

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