Items of Interest

Science Council Summary - A Symposium on the Promises and Perils of Proton Radiotherapy

Presentations now available as .pdfs

On-Line Evaluation System

(Available May 8 - June 8)

To obtain credit, attendees must complete an on-line evaluation survey.
The survey will be available online Friday, May 8 thru Monday, June 8.
Attendees must complete the survey by June 8 in order to receive CAMPEP or MDCB credit.
Your feedback is important to AAPM when planning future programs, therefore we ask you to take a few moments to complete and submit the evaluation regardless of whether or not you need continuing education credit.
After the meeting:
- Medical Physicist registrants will be contacted with instructions for viewing the meeting transcript via the CAMPEP website. The transcript will list a description of the sessions and the number of continuing education credits obtained.
- Medical dosimetrist registrants will be provided with a transcript to self-report credits to the MDCB.
Please note your badge I.D. will be required in order to complete the CEC evaluation survey.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Access the system below.
Enter your badge I.D. / last name.
Verify your email address.
Complete 'Overall Meeting Evaluation.'
Complete 'Session Evaluation' for each session you attended:
• You may only evaluate one session per time slot.
• You can enter the system as often as you like in order to 'edit' or 'clear' information previously entered for the session until JUNE 8.
NOTE: Once you have completed evaluating ALL sessions attended, select the FINALIZE button. Please note, you will no longer have access to edit your evaluation.

On-Line Evaluation System is Closed

Continuing Education Credits - Medical Physicists

This program has been approved by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP) for medical physics continuing education credits (MPCEC) to qualified medical physicists attending the Symposium.

Following the meeting and the close of the AAPM online evaluation system, AAPM will provide CAMPEP with participant contact information, credits earned, and the appropriate processing fees in order for individual participants to access their personal Symposium transcript via the CAMPEP online MPCEC Repository database. Registrants will be contacted with instructions for accessing the transcript via the CAMPEP website. The transcript will list a description of the sessions and the number of continuing education credits obtained.

Please be advised, CAMPEP transcripts are viewable via the CAMPEP online MPCEC Repository database. Participants will not receive a hardcopy CAMPEP transcript. Should a participant need a hardcopy of the Symposium transcript, an individual may order a hardcopy transcript from CAMPEP. View details here.

MEDICAL DOSIMETRISTS:
The AAPM Proton Symposium has been approved by the Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board (MDCB) for ARRT Category A credits. Medical dosimetrist participants who complete a post-meeting evaluation will be provided with a transcript to self-report credits to the MDCB.

Participating Vendor Literature Tables

We wish to thank our participating vendors for their support of the Promises and Perils of Proton Radiotherapy Symposium.

Symposium Objective

The Science Council of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine is proud to announce a Symposium on the Promises and Perils of Proton Radiotherapy

May 8 – 9, 2009
Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Target Audience: The program is aimed at radiation oncologists, medical physicists, biologists and health policy professionals.

The use of protons for radiation therapy offers theoretical advantages compared to external beam photon radiotherapy. Proton therapy enables lowering of the integral dose to the patient due to the finite range of protons. Protons also have a demonstrated advantage for treating small tumor volumes at shallow depths such as tumors of the eye and of the CNS such as chordomas and chondrosarcomas. Proton radiotherapy reduces the volume of normal tissue exposed to low doses, which is clinically significant with respect to the risk of second malignancies. This risk is notably more pronounced for younger patients than older ones, as younger patients are more at risk to future radiation induced cancers.

However, proton therapy is less tolerant than photon therapy to uncertainties in both treatment planning and treatment delivery. Tissue inhomogeneities, motion and mis-registration of the target volume with the radiation beams have far more severe consequences in proton therapy compared to photon therapy. If the target volumes are to be adequately irradiated, and adjacent OARs are to be protected in proton therapy, it is essential:

that the causes and possible magnitudes of motion and mis-registration are understood;
that their possible consequences are understood;
that measures are taken to minimize motion and mis-registration to the extent possible and clinically warranted.

With the rapid proliferation of proton facilities in the United States, the Science Council of the AAPM put forth the need for a teaching symposium that would be informative for current and future practitioners of proton radiotherapy. International experts will discuss issues such as current clinical practice and machinery, future developments in delivery and planning, and operational startup and ongoing costs. Controversies related to planning and treatment uncertainties, the question of clinical trials, and biological questions such as RBE and secondary neutrons will also be presented.

At the end of this symposium, attendees will learn about the:

State-of-the-art in proton therapy and future developments.
Normal tissue sparing in proton therapy
Potential sources of dosimetric uncertainties in proton therapy
Impact of planning and delivery uncertainties on the accuracy and conformity of dose delivered to patients.
Clinical evidence supporting proton therapy
Challenges in conducting randomized clinical trials with proton therapy
Comparative effectiveness of competing treatment modalities
Startup and ongoing cost of proton therapy
Secondary neutron issue