Quantitative Evaluation of AI-based Organ Segmentation Across Multiple Anatomical Sites Using Eight Commercial Software Platforms.

Purpose: To evaluate organs-at-risk (OARs) segmentation variability across eight commercial AI-based segmentation software using independent multi-institutional datasets, and to provide recommendations for clinical practices utilizing AI-segmentation.

Methods: 160 planning CT image sets from four anatomical sites: head-and-neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvis were retrospectively pooled from three institutions. Contours for 31 OARs generated by the software were compared to clinical contours using multiple accuracy metrics, including: Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), 95 Percentile of Hausdorff distance (HD95), surface DSC, as well as relative added path length (RAPL) as an efficiency metric.

National Cancer Institute support for targeted alpha-emitter therapy.

Background: Radiopharmaceutical targeted therapy (RPT) has been studied for decades; however, recent clinical trials demonstrating efficacy have helped renewed interest in the modality.

Methods: This article reviews National Cancer Institute (NCI)'s support of RPT through communication via workshops and interest groups, through funding extramural programs in academia and small business, and through intramural research, including preclinical and clinical studies.

Results: NCI has co-organized workshops and organized interest groups on RPT and RPT dosimetry to encourage the community and facilitate rigorous preclinical and clinical studies.

Robustness Analysis for External Beam Radiation Therapy Treatment Plans: Describing Uncertainty Scenarios and Reporting Their Dosimetric Consequences.

Purpose: With external beam radiation therapy, uncertainties in treatment planning and delivery can result in an undesirable dose distribution delivered to the patient that can compromise the benefit of treatment. Techniques including geometric margins and probabilistic optimization have been used effectively to mitigate the effects of uncertainties. However, their broad application is inconsistent and can compromise the conclusions derived from cross-technique and cross-modality comparisons.

The Children's Oncology Group Radiation Oncology Discipline: 15 Years of Contributions to the Treatment of Childhood Cancer.

Purpose: Our aim was to review the advances in radiation therapy for the management of pediatric cancers made by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) radiation oncology discipline since its inception in 2000.

Methods And Materials: The various radiation oncology disease site leaders reviewed the contributions and advances in pediatric oncology made through the work of the COG. They have presented outcomes of relevant studies and summarized current treatment policies developed by consensus from experts in the field.

National Cancer Institute Workshop on Proton Therapy for Children: Considerations Regarding Brainstem Injury.

Purpose: Proton therapy can allow for superior avoidance of normal tissues. A widespread consensus has been reached that proton therapy should be used for patients with curable pediatric brain tumor to avoid critical central nervous system structures. Brainstem necrosis is a potentially devastating, but rare, complication of radiation.