Penn Medicine at the 2024 ASTRO Annual Meeting

PHILADELPHIA – Leading experts in radiation therapy from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine will present new results from clinical trials and research studies at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 66th Annual Meeting, which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29 through Oct. 2, 2024.

At the meeting, Neha Vapiwala, MD, FACR, FASTRO, FASCO, the Eli Glatstein Professor in Radiation Oncology, will take office as president-elect of ASTRO as the first Penn faculty member to lead the premier society for radiation oncology professionals. Her one-year term as president begins in fall 2025, followed by a year each as chair and immediate past chair of the Board of Directors.

In addition, Dimitris N. Mihailidis, PhD, an associate professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology, and Ying Xiao, PhD, a professor of Radiation Oncology, were named to the 2024 Class of ASTRO Fellows.

Expert interviews

Experts from Penn Medicine are available to comment on a wide range of radiation oncology research and care topics before, during, and after the meeting by video call, phone, or email. To arrange interviews, please contact Meagan Raeke at Meagan.Raeke@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 267-693-6224.

Key presentations

Penn researchers will present clinical trial results, new data on FLASH radiation therapy, updates on expanding global access to radiation therapy, and more.  

• Data on global utilization and challenges in radiotherapy: As part of an International Session focused on a Lancet Oncology Commission toward bridging gaps in access, Surbhi Grover, MD, MPH, will give an overview on how stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is used across different regions of the world during the International 04 Session on Monday, Sept. 30 at 10:45 a.m. ET in Room 204.
• Improvement in radiomic features following bridging therapy is prognostic for CAR T cell therapy outcome: This analysis looked at patients with large B-cell lymphoma who either received a bridging therapy (including systemic therapy, radiotherapy, or steroids) or no bridging therapy prior to CAR T cell therapy. They found that reduction in metabolic tumor volumes, measured by PET scans before and after bridging therapy, was associated with response to CAR T cell therapy, indicating that successful bridging therapy can improve CAR T cell therapy outcomes. Harper Hubbeling, MD, an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, will present the findings during Scientific Session 18 on Monday, Sept. 30, at 10:45 a.m. ET in Room 144.
• Phase II Study of radiation volume and dose de-intensification for throat cancer: Head and neck cancer treatment can impact a patient’s ability to swallow, speak, produce saliva, or other basic functions that significantly affect quality of life. After long-term follow-up (median 44 months) of a Penn-led clinical trial where patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma received TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) followed by radiation therapy, researchers showed that the minimally invasive surgery combined with less-intense radiation therapy was able to control cancer growth with limited side effects. John Lukens, MD, will present the study results in Scientific Session 37 on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. ET in Room 145.
• FLASH proton radiotherapy on a model of cardiac disease: Penn Medicine is a leader in the development of FLASH therapy, which blasts tumors with an ultra-high dose of radiation in less than a second while sparing healthy tissues. This preclinical study, which compared FLASH to conventional proton therapy in mouse models of myocardial fibrosis, lays the groundwork for further exploration into FLASH proton radiotherapy as a potential treatment for thoracic malignancies. Ioannis Verginadis, PhD, a research assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, will present the findings in Scientific Session 42 on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 8:00 a.m. in Room 143.
• First canine treatment with a conformal proton flash delivery system: In the first clinical trial of its kind, Penn Medicine partnered with Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine to treat pet dogs with the bone cancer osteosarcoma by using conformal FLASH proton radiotherapy. In conformal radiation, providers use CT scans to create three-dimensional maps of the tumor, something that’s common during standard radiation therapy, but had never been done before using FLASH. Eric Diffenderfer, PhD, an associate professor of Radiation Oncology, will share details of the first procedure in Scientific Session 43 on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at10:30 a.m. in Room 145.

Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.

The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

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