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Princess Alexandra Hospital
Radiation Oncology
2022 Research Report
I am delighted to share with you the 2022 Research Report for the Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital Ipswich Road (ROPAIR) Campus.
During 2022 we have offered 23 trials to suitable participants, with additional studies closed to accrual but continuing in follow-up phases. These trials reflect the breadth and complexity of our clinical practice, including testing advanced radiotherapy techniques and cancer imaging innovations across a range of common and rare cancers, the combination of radiotherapy with novel drug therapies, and some more unusual situations such as the management of cardiac arrhythmias.
It is important to acknowledge the 329 people who have graciously agreed to participate on these studies, and the hard work of our staff from the Cancer Trials Unit who have made this possible.
This year, investigators from our department were awarded AU$200,000 in competitive research grant funding with the majority sourced from the Metro South Health Education and Research Trust and the PA Research Foundation. I would like to acknowledge this generous support, which is particularly important as we look to encourage early-career and new research capacity within our team across the craft groups.
We recorded 33 peer-reviewed publications across a vast range of topics, with radiotherapy technical advancements, brain tumours and supportive care research the most common themes. There were 28 speakers from our department involved across a range of national forums representing Medical, Radiation Therapy, Medical Physics and Cancer Collaborative groups. There were also international presentations made in the UK, Europe and Singapore.
Several team members continue to work towards higher degrees. I would like to congratulate Erin Johns who is a radiation therapist studying for a PhD at QUT, exploring stereotactic brain radiotherapy. She presented some preliminary results at the 2022 PAH Health Symposium and was awarded Researcher of the Year in the Early Career Research category.
Also with regards to awards, I would also like to congratulate A/Prof David Pryor and Dr Howard Liu who were involved in the RAPPORT study, looking at the combination of stereotactic radiotherapy and immunotherapy in people with kidney cancer. Their data was initially presented at ASCO in 2021, and this year the study was formally published in European Urology where it has recently been awarded as their ‘Paper of the Year for 2022’.
As we leave the COVID pandemic behind us, it is invigorating to reflect upon these significant contributions and achievements. All at ROPAIR should be proud of the continued person-centred research, technological innovation and quality service development we have been able to deliver over the past 12 months despite the obvious challenges.
A/Prof Mark Pinkham
Angela Byron
Clinical Nurse Consultant - Team Leader
Cancer Trials Unit (CTU)
Division of Cancer Services
Princess Alexandra Hospital
Cancer Trials Unit – 2022 – A year in review
On reflection, 2022 has been a year of change, with the retirements of Drs Kumar Gogna and Judith Cox at ROPART and departure of Prof. Sandro Porceddu from ROPAIR, who has taken up the position as Director of Radiation Oncology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC). This has not detracted from the contribution of the researchers at both campuses at a local, national and international level which continues to keep PAH at the forefront of Radiation Oncology research.
Acknowledging one such contribution, was ROPAIR’s involvement in The RAPPORT Trial: Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Short-course Pembrolizumab for Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. The published paper co-authored by A/Prof David Pryor was selected as the EUROPEAN Urology paper of the Year for 2022. ROPAIR recruited six patients in conjunction with the PMCC for this trial. It is so rewarding for all staff and patients involved to see all the hard work being reflected in the outstanding results of trials and the impact they have on the delivery of care, changing practise and patient outcomes.
In 2022, seven new studies opened at the ROPAIR campus, whilst ROPART opened one new study. One trial resumed recruitment, three trials closed to recruitment, three closed to follow-up and six were approved for closure. Pleasingly, across the two Radiation Oncology campuses, 73 new patients were recruited to trials this year from 132 screened, compared to 34 new and 101 patients screened last year. Overall, between the two campuses, over 420 patients are either on active treatment or on follow-up.
It is worth noting that PAH became the second Australian site to join NRG Oncology which will help to attract more international collaboration and contribution to research. This is a non-profit Research Organisation and is one of five national cancer cooperative groups currently funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).
Modern cancer trials continue to grow in complexity, often involve multiple treatment modalities. For example, our MASTERPLAN & SARC032 trials which are looking at the combination of Radiation, Chemo/Immunotherapy and Surgery. The Radiation Oncology Trials Team must be flexible and adaptable to meet the ever-increasing needs of the expanding research environment. To date, RO Trials Teams that covers both campuses, consists of six full time & part time Trial Coordinators, one Clinical Trial Assistant, as well as being supported by the Clinical Trials RT QA Team and of course the Research Nurses and CTU Administrative Team such as Ethics and Governance and Revenue/Finance.
Radiation Oncology Princess Alexandra Hospital Ipswich Road Campus CTU Team (From Left: Felila Blakelock, Rochelle Pallesen & Diana Nguyen).
Radiation Oncology Princess Alexandra Hospital Raymond Terrace Campus CTU Team (From Left: David Hickey, Narelle Wallace & Mitchell Peters).
Sadly, at the end of 2022, our beloved A/Director of CTU of six years, Adrienne See accepted a wonderful opportunity to take up the position of Research Manager – Department of Radiation, at PMCC. We wish her well in her new role and acknowledge the wonderful contribution she has made to Radiation Oncology at both campuses and to CTU as a whole.
On behalf of the Cancer Trials Team, I would also like to acknowledge all the efforts of the Medical, Nursing, Radiation Therapists, Administration staff, other Health Professionals and of course, the patients. Without everyone’s involvement, treatments and technologies cannot move forward to improve outcomes and survival rates for our patients.
Angela Byron
Clinical Nurse Consultant – Team Leader
Clinical Trial Coordinator – Radiation Oncology
Cancer Trials Unit
Princess Alexandra Hospital
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Grants and Funding
Supported Studies
$25,000 The Avant Foundation A Machine Learning Model with Radiomics for predicting Local Control and radionecrosis outcomes for Melanoma Brain Metastases treated with Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Immunotherapy CI-Shanker M & CI-Pinkham MB, 2022-2023
$25,000 Metro South Research Support Scheme SERTA Innovation Grant - MRI-guided Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Ventricular Tachycardia PI- Huo M & CIs- Lee YY, Ramachandran P, Ahmad W, Gould P, Dahiya A, Ngai S, 2022-2023
$30,000 2022 CBTIE Grant. Fielding A, Trapp A, Ramachandran P, Wille J, Suresh S
$100,000 PA Research Foundation Early Career Research Grant - Predicting normal brain dose in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for single brain metastasis using VMAT. Johns E
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Awards
Research and Recognition
Johns E. Winner best oral presentation and people’s choice award, PAH Research Excellence Awards 2022
Sengupta C, Nguyen DT, Mason D, Luo J, Causer T, Au A, Hazem M, Galayini M, Yau S, Chao M, White S, Liu SF, Webb L, Brown E, Jones C, Perrett B, Ukath J, Ramachandran P, Glyde A, Brown S, Wang T, Lee YY, Gysen K, Booth J, O’Brien R, Keall P. Winner of Best Imaging Oncology presentation award at Engineering and Physical Sciences in Medicine Conference 2022, Adelaide, Australia (EPSM 2022) for First real-time 6DoF tumour tracking for liver SABR on a standard Elekta linear accelerator
Siva S, Bressel M, Wood ST, Shaw MG, Loi S, Sandhu SK, Tran B, Azad AA, Lewin JH, Cuff KE, Liu H, Moon D Goad J, Wong LM, LimJoon M, Mooi J, Chander S, Murphy DG, Lawrentschuk N, Pryor D. Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Short-course Pembrolizumab for Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma—The RAPPORT Trial. Winner of Best Scientific Paper published in European Urology in 2022
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Presentations
Speakers and Subjects
Pinkham MB. PET imaging for brain tumours; clinician’s perspective. Australian and NZ Society of Nuclear Radiation Medicine ASM, Brisbane 2022. Oral presentation.
Pinkham MB. Sequencing systemic therapy and radiosurgery for brain metastases. British Institute of Radiology Annual Radiotherapy and Oncology Meeting, London UK 2022. Oral presentation.
Pinkham MB. Selecting a dose and fractionation radiotherapy regimen for glioma. FRACS Neuro-Oncology Training Seminar, Online 2022. Oral presentation.
Pinkham MB. CNS Working Party. TROG ASM, Gold Coast 2022. Session Chair.
Ramachandran P. Recent trends in Medical Physics. HealthX, Brisbane 2022. Oral presentation.
Deb P, Calurad E, Ryan J, Ramachandran P. A treatment planning study of stereotactic radiosurgery for multiple brain metastases. IUPSEM World Congress. Singapore Jun 2022.
Chia YR, Ramachandran P, Ryan J, Deb P. Electronic compensator in external beam radiation therapy. IUPSEM World Congress. Singapore Jun 2022.
Noble C, Horgan E. Exactrac Dynamic: Commissioning and Initial Clinical Experience. ACPSEM- University of Sydney workshop on Motion Management in External Beam Radiation Therapy, July 2022, Oral presentation.
Johns E. Investigating brain low dose wash in the treatment of stereotactic radiotherapy for singular brain metastases. Finalist PAH Health Symposium 2022 Research Excellence Awards. Brisbane, August 2022. Oral presentation.
A Mehta. Commissioning of the Sun NuclearTM Advanced Electron Density Phantom. Progress and Research in Medical Physics Series Meeting 34, ACPSEM Queensland, August 2022. Oral presentation.
Trevethan M, Pigott A, Patterson F, Doig E. ICG lymphography for lymphoedema therapy (PhD project). ALA, Virtual, Jun 2020. Oral presentation.
R Motley. Commissioning of the PTW Octavius 1600 SRS detector array. Progress and Research in Medical Physics Series Meeting 34, ACPSEM Queensland, August 2022. Oral presentation.
Gane EM, Tan J, Ward EC, Chan RJ, Pinkham MB, Hart NH, Williames J, Pinkham EP. Delivering supervised group exercise to patients with cancer via telehealth: an implementation study using the REAIM framework. COSA ASM 2022. Poster presentation.
Poulgrain S, Moore J, Budgen K, Tran N, Cuff KE, Jeffree L, Alexander H, Walker D, Youl P, Pinkham MB.Patterns of treatment and outcomes for patients with glioblastoma: a population-based study in Queensland, COSA ASM 2022. Poster presentation.
Poulgrain S, Moore J, Budgen K, Tran N, Cuff KE, Jeffree L, Alexander H, Walker D, Youl P, Pinkham MB. Treatment and outcomes for Queenslanders with glioblastoma over a decade. COGNO ASM 2022. Poster presentation.
Campbell R, Lee Y, Srikumar D, Stewart G, Noor MB, Papastamatis N, Afaras I, Koh ES, Pinkham MB, Dhillon H. Capturing the patient voice: a review of patient-reported outcomes included in brain cancer clinical trials. COGNO ASM 2022. Oral presentation.
Pinkham MB. Multi-disciplinary tumour panel discussion. COGNO ASM, Brisbane 2022. Panel member.
Pinkham MB. Medicinal Cannabis in brain cancer. COGNO ASM, Brisbane 2022. Session Chair.
Pinkham MB. Sustainable healthcare: a future for all. PAH Health Symposium 2022. Oncology session chair,
Scott M, Jones N. The Empathy Project – Staff confidence and training needs in psychosocial patient care. Queensland RT weekend October 2022. Oral presentation.
Besson J. Radiation Oncology COVID-19 pandemic response evaluation survey – moving forward with lessons learned for SEQ RTs. Queensland RT weekend. October 2022. Oral presentation.
Brown E. Research demographics of Australian medical radiation practitioners – illuminating the way forward. Queensland RT weekend. October 2022. Oral presentation.
Crowley S. Implementation of an MRI Simulator – the first 6 months from the radiation therapist’s perspective. Queensland RT weekend. October 2022. Oral presentation.
Johns E. Predicting normal brain dose in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for single brain metastases using volumetric modulated arc therapy. PAH Health Symposium Research Excellence Awards. August 2022. Oral presentation.
Pinkham EP. Feasibility, Sustainability and a Call to Action for Food and Exercise as Medicine. PAH Health Symposium, August 2022. Panel member.
Pinkham MB. Sequencing of cavity treatment and systemic therapy, SIGA Annual Meeting, Melbourne 2022. Invited speaker
Daly T. Evolution of Radiation Therapy in Rectal Cancer. Brisbane Cancer Conference. Brisbane 2022 Oral presentation.
Jones D. GAINS – Glioma carers: Assessment of Individual Needs and Support, Brisbane Brain Tumour Support Group. October 2022. Oral presentation.
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Publications
Authors and Articles
Lamprecht B, Muscat E, Harding A, Howe K, Brown E, Barry T, Mai T, Lehman M, Bernard A, Hargrave C, Harvey J. Comparison of whole breast dosimetry techniques – From 3DCRT to VMAT and the impact on heart and surrounding tissues. J Med Imag Radiat Sc. August 2021. Online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.541
Yuile A, Khasraw M, Low JT, Walsh KM, Lipp E, Sy J, Satgunaseelan L, Kastelan MA, De Silva M, Lee A, Wheeler H, Pinkham MB. Patterns of care in adult histone mutant gliomas: results of an international survey. Neuro-Oncology Practice 2022 (In press).
Ladwa R, Pinkham EP, Teleni L, Hanley B, Lock G, Nixon J, Agbejule OA, Crawford-Williams F, Jones L, Pinkham MB, Turner J, Yates P, McPhail S, Aitken J, Escalante C, Hart N, Chan R. A Telehealth Cancer-Related Fatigue Clinic Model for Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol (the T-CRF Trial). BMJ Open 2022; 12(5):e059952.
Ownsworth T, Lion K, Sansom-Daly U, Pike K, Koh E, Halkett G, Pinkham MB, Chan R, Dhillon H. Scoping the psychological support practices of Australian health professionals working with people with primary brain tumor and their families Psycho-Oncology 2022; Aug 31(8): 1313-1321.
Ghosh S, Huda P, Fletcher N, Howard C, Walsh B, Campbell D, Pinkham MB, Thurecht KJ. Antibody-Based Formats to Target Glioblastoma: Overcoming Barriers to Protein Drug Delivery. Molecular Pharmaceutics 2022; 19(5): 1233-1247.
Shanker MD, Garimall S, Gatt N, Foley H, Crowley S, Le Cornu E, Muscat K, Soon W, Atkinson V, Xu W, Watkins T, Huo M, Foote MC, Pinkham MB. Stereotactic radiosurgery for melanoma brain metastases: Concurrent immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy associated with superior clinicoradiological response outcomes. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology, 2022; 66(4): 536-545
Ramachandran P, Seshadri V, Ben Perrett, Mehta A, Fontanarosa D, Pinkham MB and Foote MC. Role of artificial intelligence in automatic segmentation of brain metastases for radiotherapy. In: Artificial Intelligence in Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis, Volume 3. Brain and prostate cancer edited by Ayman El-Baz and Jasjit S Suri. IOP Publishing, 2022.
Chua BH, Link EK, Kunkler IH, Whelan TJ, Westenberg AH, Gruber G, Bryant G, Ahern V, Purohit K, Graham PH, Akra M, McArdle O, O’Brien P, Harvey JA, Kirkove C, Maduro JH, Campbell ID, Delaney GP, Martin JD, Vu T, Muanza TM, Neal A, Olivotto IA. Radiation doses and fractionation schedules in non-low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ in the breast (BIG 3–07/TROG 07.01): A randomised, factorial, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet 2022:400: 431-40.
Connolly EA, Bhadri VA, Wake J, Ingley KM, Lewin J, Bae S, Wong DD, Long AP, Pryor D, Thompson SR, Strach MC, Grimison PS, Mahar A, Bonar F, Maclean F, Hong A. Systemic treatments and outcomes in CIC-rearranged Sarcoma: A national multi-centre clinicopathological series and literature review. Cancer Med. 2022 Apr;11(8):1805-1816. doi: 10.1002/cam4.4580. Epub 2022 Feb 17
Ong WL, Thangasamy I, Murphy D, Pritchard E, Evans S, Millar J, Chalasani V, Rashid P, Winter M, Vela I, Pryor D, Mark S, Lawrentschuk N. Large variation in conservative management of low-risk prostate cancer in Australia and New Zealand. BJU Int. 2022 Jun;130 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):17-19. doi: 10.1111/bju.15698. Epub 2022 Feb 21.
Siva S, Bressel M, Wood ST, Shaw MG, Loi S, Sandhu SK, Tran B, A Azad A, Lewin JH, Cuff KE, Liu HY, Moon D, Goad J, Wong LM, LimJoon M, Mooi J, Chander S, Murphy DG, Lawrentschuk N, Pryor D. Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Short-course Pembrolizumab for Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma-The RAPPORT Trial. Eur Urol. 2022 Apr;81(4):364-372. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2021.12.006. Epub 2021 Dec 23.
Albarakati H, Jackson P, Gulal O, Ramachandran P, Osbourne G, Liu M, Kron T, Geso M. Dose assessment for daily cone-beam CT in lung radiotherapy patients and its combination with treatment planning. Physical and engineering sciences in medicine, 2002, 45(1), 231–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-022-01105-7.
Al-Kabkabi A, Ramachandran P, Aamry A, Tamam N, Abuhadi NH, Johary Y, Aamri H, Sulieman A, Trapp J. Assessment of cone beam computed tomography image quality and dose for commonly used pre-sets in external beam radiotherapy. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Volume 199, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110287.
Broadhead B, Noble C, Ramachandran P. A direct comparison of the optically stimulated luminescent properties of BeO and Al2O3 for clinical in-vivo dosimetry. Phys Eng Sci Med, 2022.https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-022-01155-x.
Brown E, Le Cornu E, Bui T, Bernard A, Mai T, Harvey J. Acute toxicity and patient reported outcomes in anal canal cancer: results of a pilot study. J Med Radiat Sc. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.604.
Chau M, Brown E, Beldham-Collins R, Anderson N. Research demographics of Australian medical radiation practitioners. J Med Imag Radiat Sc. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2022.07.009.
Huo M, Morle, L, Dawson L, Bissonnette, J, Helou J, Giuliani M, Barry A. Peer review quality assurance in stereotactic body radiotherapy planning: The impact of case volume. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 2002 1-6. doi:10.1017/S1460396922000152.
Kong BY, Sim HW, Barnes EH, Nowak AK, Hovey EJ, Jeffree R, Harrup R, Parkinson J, Gan HK, Pinkham MB, Yip S, Hall M, Tu E, Carter C, Koh ES, Lwin Z, Dowling A, Simes JS, Gedye C. Multi-Arm GlioblastoMa Australasia (MAGMA): Protocol for a multi-arm randomised clinical trial for people affected by glioblastoma. BMJ Open 2022; 12(9): e058107.
Foley J, Burns CL, Ward EC, Nund RL, Wishart LR, Kenny LM, Stevens M. Post‐acute health care needs of people with head and neck cancer: Mapping health care services, experiences, and the impact of rurality. Head & Neck, 2002, 44(6), 1377-1392.
Foley J, Ward EC, Burns CL, Nund RL., Wishart LR, Graham N, Comben W. Enhancing speech-language pathology head and neck cancer service provision in rural Australia: Using a plan, do, study, act approach. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2002, 1-14.
Pigott A, Brown B, White N, McPhail S, Porceddu S, Liu H, Jeans C, Panizza B, Nixon J. A prospective observational cohort study examining the development of head and neck lymphedema from the time of diagnosis. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2002.
Trevethan M, Bennett S, Doig E, Patterson F, Pigott A. Navigating the application of new innovations: Establishing an Indocyanine Green lymphography clinic in Australia. Health & Social Care in the Community, 2022
Wishart LR, Harris GB, Cassim N, Alimin S, Liao T, Brown B, Ward EC, Nund RL. Association Between Objective Ratings of Swallowing and Dysphagia-Specific Quality of Life in Patients Receiving (Chemo)radiotherapy for Oropharyngeal Cancer. Dysphagia 37, 1014–1021 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-021-10364-7
Jones D, Pinkham MP, Wallen MP, Hart NH, Joseph R, Strodl E, Ownsworth T, Beesley V, Crichton M, Chan RJ. Benefits of supportive strategies for carers of people with high-grade glioma: a systematic review: Strategies for addressing the needs of high-grade glioma carers. Supportive Care Cancer, 2022, 30; 10359-10378.
Siva S, Bressel M, Wood ST, Shaw MG, Loi S, Sandhu SK, Tran B, Azad AA, Lewin JH, Cuff KE, Liu H, Moon D Goad J, Wong LM, LimJoon M, Mooi J, Chander S, Murphy DG, Lawrentschuk N, Pryor D. Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Short-course Pembrolizumab for Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma—The RAPPORT Trial. European Urology, 2022.
Chidley P, Shanker M, Phillips C, Haghighi N, Pinkham MB, Whittle JR, Sia J. Moderately Hypofractionated versus Conventionally Fractionated Radiation Therapy with Temozolomide for Young and Fit Patients with Glioblastoma: An Institutional Experience and Meta- analysis of Literature. J Neuro-Oncology 2022 160; 361-374.
Perrett B, Ukath J, Horgan E, Noble C, Ramachandran P. A framework for ExacTrac dynamic commissioning for stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. Journal of Medical Physics. 2022 Oct 1;47(4):398.
Parveen N, Ramachandran P, Seshadri V, Perrett B, Fielding A. Comparison and validation of multiple detectors against monte carlo simulation for the use of small-field dosimetry. J Med Phys 2022;47:235-42.
Shanker MD, Webber R, Pinkham MB, Huo M, Olson S, Hall B, Jayalath R, Watkins T, Foote MC. Gamma Knife® stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial cavernous malformations. J Clin Neurosci. 2022 Dec;106:96-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2022.10.015. Epub 2022 Oct 20. PMID: 36274300.
Daniels CP, Huo M, Xu W, Porceddu S. Melanoma. In: Kim, E., Parvathaneni, U., Welliver, M.X. (eds). Radiation Therapy for Sarcomas and Skin Cancers. Practical Guides in Radiation Oncology. USA. Springer; 2022. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06706-8_14
Huo M, Tsang DS. In Reply: Importance of Cobalt-60 Dose Rate and Biologically Effective Dose on Local Control for Intracranial Meningiomas Treated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Neurosurgery. 2022 Nov 1;91(5):e133-e134. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000002138.
Mazzoni D, Daly T, Muir J, Comment on ‘Method of Assessing Skin Cancerization and KeratosesTM(MASCK™): development and photographic validation in multiple anatomical sites of a novel assessment tool intended for clinical evaluation of patients with extensive skin field cancerization’, Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2022;, llac067, https://doi.org/10.1093/ced/llac067
Kutzko JH, Dadwal P, Holt T, Rahman MA, Zahir SF, Hickey B. Defining the expected 30-day mortality for patients undergoing palliative radiotherapy: A meta-analysis. Radiother Oncol. 2022 Mar;168:147-210. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2022.01.030. Epub 2022 Jan 29. PMID: 35101462.
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Collaborative Trials Portfolio
Trial Activity Table 2022
Acknowledgements 2022 research report
Nakia Beaton, Elizabeth Brown, Sharon Watson, Muralidas Ramanathan, Andrew Puffett and the entire PAH Radiation Therapy Research Team.