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Princess Alexandra Hospital
Radiation Oncology
2023 Research Report

I am delighted to share with you the 2023 Research report for the Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital.

During the past year we have offered 19 trials to suitable participants, with an additional 18 studies closed to accrual but continuing in follow-up phases. It is important to acknowledge the 813 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. Going forwards, access to new clinical trials has also been bolstered through our recent Affiliation to NRG Oncology through University of California, San Francisco. NRG Oncology is a leading cancer cooperative trials group in North America, enabling us to bring new and innovative trials to patients within Metro South.

This year, investigators from our department have been awarded $7.55 M in research grant funding including NHMRC and MRFF. This is a significant investment and highlights the capability, impact and promise that our work brings across Australia and beyond.  I would also like to acknowledge and thank generous funding support from Metro South Health Research Support Scheme and PA Research Foundation. Through these local competitive grant opportunities, we can encourage early-career and new research capacity within our craft groups.

We recorded 45 peer-reviewed publications across a vast range of topics; radiotherapy technical innovation, stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR), head & neck cancer, supportive care research and brain cancers were the most common themes. One of the highest impact studies was ‘Long-term outcomes of TROG 13.01 SAFRON II randomized trial of single-versus multifraction stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy for pulmonary oligometastases’ reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology. Congratulations to Dr Tao Mai and A/Prof David Pryor (Radiation Oncologists) who were co-authors on this important publication.

There were 17 conference abstracts and 41 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 delivered in Singapore, USA, India, Portugal, Austria, New Zealand.

Currently there are 11 team members working towards higher degrees (10 PhD and one Masters) within nursing, medical physics and radiation therapy. This commitment to progress our field and ultimately improve care for patients is commendable, as is the support from staff acting as supervisors. In addition, I would like to congratulate Dr Lachlan McDowell (Radiation Oncologist) who has recently completed his PhD through University of Melbourne examining Quality of life and unmet needs of survivors of human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer.

Finally with regards to awards, I would also like to recognise a number of recipients this year: Dr Rev Chelvarajah (Gamma Knife Fellow) for Members in Training Research Achievement Award at Radiosurgical Society Florida, USA; Elizabeth Pinkham (Cancer Physiotherapy Team Leader) for Best Oral Presentation Clinical Research Early Career Researcher at PAH Symposium;  Alex Kazi (Medical Physicist) for BTAA Lynette Williams Award 2nd place at COGNO ASM Sydney; Prof Prabhakar Ramachandran (Director Medical Physics) for Best Oral-Poster Award at COSA ASM Melbourne; Hannah Hering (Radiation Therapist) for Best RT Student Paper Prize at ASMIRT; Leila Rough (Radiation Therapist) for RT Student Paper Encouragement Award at ASMIRT; Chelsea Cameron (QUT student) supervised by Dr Elizabeth Brown (Assistant Director, Radiation Therapy) for Best RT Paper Prize at ASMIRT; and Lucy Sim (Medical Physicist) for Bob Fitchew Award at ACPSEM QLD Branch.

It is invigorating to reflect upon these significant contributions and achievements. I am grateful to Rochelle Palleson, Dr Elizabeth Brown, Dr Cathy Hargrave and Andrew Puffett who have helped to carefully curate this information and present it so professionally. All within Radiation Oncology 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.

A/Prof Mark Pinkham

Overall, 2023 has been an interesting year. The Radiation Oncology Trials Team was involved in an Investigator Audit of the Regeneron R2810-ONC-1788/c-POST Trial, to which Prof. Sandro Porceddu was the initial Principal Investigator. Added to this, the entire Cancer Trial Unit was undergoing a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) audit. This gave the Unit a good chance to review standard operating procedures, essential documents etc and generally have a good clean up. Pleasingly, both the Unit & the Radiation Trial Team gained positive outcomes from both audits – in short, we passed!

In 2023, Dr Judith Cox retired and sadly, A/Professor Brigid Hickey passed away. Both Radiation Oncologist’s were involved in Radiation Oncology Trials and Dr Hickey also held the Director of Radiation position at ROPART. Both R.O’s contributed to Trials over the years, and their input has been extremely valuable.

Pleasingly, Dr Andrew Pullar who likewise is a great contributor to Radiation Oncology Trials was appointed to the Director’s role at ROPART.

In 2023, three new studies opened at the ROPART campus, whilst ROPAIR opened one new study. Overall, three Trials closed to recruitment four closed to follow-up  and six  were approved for closure.  Pleasingly, across the two Radiation Oncology campuses, 50 new patients were recruited to Trials this year from 151 screened patients. Overall, between the two campuses, over 226 patients are either on active treatment or on follow-up.

Acknowledging CTU achievements in 2023, has been ROPAIR’s involvement in TROG 13.01 SAFFRON II Trial: Single-Fraction vs Multifraction Ablative Body Radiotherapy for  Pulmonary Oligometastases -Principal Investigator Dr Tao MAI.  The Trial’s long term outcomes were accepted by Journal of Clinical Oncology for publication in 2023. ROPAIR recruited 19 patients for this Trial.  These pleasing  trial results and their influence on delivery of care & improved patient outcomes, are a source of great satisfaction for all staff members and patients who have contributed to this trial.

As previously mentioned, cancer trials continue to become more complicated, and frequently involve many modalities, such Radiation, Chemo/Immunotherapy & Surgery. One such Trial is the NAPSTER (Renal) trial in which PAH is a participant with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Additionally, in order to successfully screen & recruit Trial patients, the Radiation Oncology Trials Team must maintain close relationships with other Departments/Streams, such as the Hepatology & Radiology departments for the SOCRATES Liver Trial. Constant communication aids in identifying potential patients in order to offer them novel treatments that may not yet be available.

Currently, both Teams across the two campuses consists of six full time & part time Trial Coordinators, as well, as being supported by the Clinical Trials RT QA Team.

On behalf of the Cancer Trials Team, I would like to thank all of the Medical, Nursing, Radiation Therapy, Administration, and other Health Professionals. Treatments and technologies cannot advance to improve patient outcomes and survival rates without everyone’s participation.

Angela Byron
Clinical Nurse Consultant – Team Leader
Clinical Trial Coordinator – Radiation Oncology
Cancer Trials Unit
Princess Alexandra Hospital

Supported Studies

Recipients & Projects

  1. $50,000 Tour de Cure Annual Grant Round 2023

    How can we maximise the benefits of radiotherapy and immunotherapy for treatment of brain metastases?

    CI-A Pinkham, CI-Huo, CI-Saunus

  2. $ 119,808 Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research Innovation Grant 2023

    Communication and emotional support skills training for health professionals working with people with brain cancer and their families: A codesign and pilot study

    CI-A Ownsworth, CI-Pinkham, 2024-2025

  3. $50,000 Metro South Health Research Support Scheme (MSH RSS) Co-funded Collaboration Grant 2023

    Exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention for the management of sleep disturbance in Primary Brain Tumour Survivors and their Caregivers

    CI-A Pinkham, CI-E Pinkham with collaborators at QUT

  4. $50,000 LINC Grant, TRI 2022

    Establishing a Pipeline for Rapid Clinical Translation of Novel Biomaterials for the Treatment of Brain Metastases

    CIs: T Kryza and S Mantha

    Mentors: K Thurecht and M Pinkham

  5. $99,420 Metro South Health Research Support Scheme (MSH RSS) Project Grant 2023

    Unlocking the Future: Pioneering a Cutting-Edge Deep Learning Model for Precise Prediction of New Brain Metastases from MR Datasets

    CI-A Ramachandran, CI-Pinkham, CI-Huo

  6. $100,000 PA Research Foundation early Career Research Grant 2023

    Co-designing and piloting a multimedia educational platform to improve brain tumour health literacy among people with benign brain tumour and lower-grade glioma

    CI-A Pinkham, CI-Foote

  7. $124,707.89 Metro South Health Research Support Scheme (MSH RSS) Project Grant 2023

    Co-designing and piloting a multimedia educational platform to improve brain tumour health literacy among people with benign brain tumour and lower-grade glioma

    CI-A Pinkham, CI-Foote

  8. $125,000 MSH Research Support Scheme

    Identifying metabolic signatures predictive of radiation therapy intra-treatment response in human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal cancer

    CI-A Howard Liu, CI-B Lachlan McDowell, CI-D Clinton Gould, CI-E Aimee Devlin

  9. $125,000 MSH Research Support Scheme

    CanCommunicate: Optimising Communication for People with Brain Cancer and their Families

    CI-A Finch, CI- M Pinkham, 2023-2024

  10. $134,245.41 THSS SERTA Research Fellowship Grant 2023

    “Feasibility of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for spinal malignancies on the MR-Linac”

    CIs: Bronwyn Oar, Cathy Hargrave, Katie McMahon, Lisa Nissen

  11. $670,000 NHMRC Development Grant.

    A New Device for Targeted Radiation Therapy to Improve Cancer Patient Outcomes.
    CI- Pryor D, 2023-2026

  12. $5,991,219.44 MRFF Australian Brain Cancer Research Infrastructure Grant

    Supporting Australian Brain Cancer Research with an Integrated Network of Platforms

    CI-A Jeffree, CI- M Pinkham, 2023-2028

Awards

Research and Recognition

  1. Chelvarajah R – Recipient of Members in Training Research Achievement Award – The Radiosurgery Society (RSS) - presented in Florida USA 2023

  2. Pinkham E. PA Symposium 2023 Best Oral Presentation Clinical Research Early Career Researcher.  Delivering supervised group exercise to patients with cancer via telehealth: an implementation study using the REAIM framework

  3. Kazi A, Arrington D, Ramachandran P, Pinkham M, Reutens D. Awarded BTAA Lynette Williams second prize award. Application of radiomics to pre-operative imaging to predict survival in people with glioma. Poster Presentation, COGNO ASM 2023

  4. Ramachandran P, Guan T, Vinnai OP, Colbert Z, Arrington D, Seshadri V, Cossio D, Lehman M.  A multi-institutional study on long-term incidence of contralateral second breast cancer following breast cancer radiation therapy – Preliminary results.  Best Oral-Posters Award (Clinical Research & Supportive Care). Clinical Oncology Society of Australia ASM, Melbourne. Nov 2023.

  5. Hering H, Effeney B, Brady C, Hargrave C. Awarded Best RT Student Paper Prize. “An evaluation of ankle and foot bolus in paediatric modulated arc total body irradiation.” Oral presentation. ASMIRT 2023

  6. Rough L, Burbery J, Rutledge P, Hargrave C, Brown E. RT Student Paper Encouragement Award “An evaluation of treatment time and intrafraction motion in stereotactic body radiation therapy.”  Oral presentation. ASMIRT 2023

  7. Cameron C, Pollard N, Brown E. Awarded Best RT Paper Prize An Evaluation of Image Verification Shifts in VMAT Breast and Nodal Patients and Potential Influencing Factors. ASMIRT QLD CEC Student Paper Night 2023

  8. Lucy Sim ACPSEM QLD Branch Bob Fitchew Award for 2023

Presentations

International & National (Conferences, Workshops, Virtual Recordings)

  1. McDowell L. TROG 12.01 Secondary Analyses: The past, the present and the future TROG ASM 2023, Adelaide, June 2023 Invited speaker (virtual recording).

  2. McDowell L. Plenary Moderator: “Late Complications” ANZHNCS ASM, Hunter Valley, August 2023.Invited speaker: “Sexual Health in Head and Neck Cancer”.

  3. Soon, Yu Yang, Pinkham MB, Hegi-Johnson, Fiona. Changes in cognition after Osimertinib, with or without SRS, in EGFRm NSCLC with brain metastases: a pooled analysis of RCTs.,  on behalf of the investigators of LUOSCINS and OUTRUN (TROG 17.02). Oral presentation. World Lung Cancer Conference September 2023, Singapore.

  4. McDowell L. Sexual Health in Head and Neck Cancer American Society of Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting, San Diego, September 2023.

  5. Chant T, Ramachandran P. Development of an ultra-low cost high dynamic range dosimeter for radiation therapy. Oral Presentation. Feb 14 – 15. MMND-ITRO 2023.

  6. Jones N. The Empathy Project. THRIVE 2023 AH Research Symposium: MSH and MNH, Brisbane, August 2023. Oral presentation.

  7. Hughes D. Literature Review: Glioblastoma adaptive RT - QOL and overall survival. October 2023 QLD RT conference. Oral presentation.

  8. Wan R. Can Open Faced Masks Open the Door for Brain Patients with Anxiety?. October 2023 QLD RT conference. Oral presentation.

  9. King S. Gamma Knife Workflow Processes & Meningioma Case Study.. October 2023 QLD RT conference. Oral presentation.

  10. Brown E. Think BIG: Bringing Inspiration to every Gray Invited Speaker 2023 NZIMRT national conference. Oral presentation.

  11. Ramachandran P. Python for Machine Learning and Medical Physics Application (Invited Speaker & Workshop Faculty) 2023 Feb 01 – 02. Sir CV Raman Science Block, Anna University, Chennai, India.

  12. McDowell L. Invited Plenary speaker: Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer: Identifying the vulnerable patient,  Invited speaker:  Sexual health in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Panellist: The Head and Neck Clinic MDT reimagined, Princess Alexandra Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.  November 10-11 2023.  Brisbane.

  13. McDowell L. Invited speaker: TROG 12.01 Secondary Analyses: A focus on the patient experience. Brisbane Cancer Conference.  November 2023.  Brisbane.

  14. Phillips C, Pinkham MB, Moore A, et al. Local HERO: A Phase II study of local therapy only (stereotactic radiosurgery and / or surgery) for treatment of up to 5 brain metastases from HER2+ breast cancer. In: ABC7 Advanced Breast Cancer 7th International Consensus Conference. ;Nov 2023, Portugal. **Best Post Presentation Award.

  15. Shankar M, Motley R, Arrington D, Ramachandran P, Foote M, Huo M, Pinkham MB.  A Machine Learning Model with Radiomics for Predicting Local Control Outcomes for Melanoma Brain Metastases Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Oral presentation ARS 2023.

  16. Revadhi C. Chelvarajah, Mark B. Pinkham, Matthew Foote, Mihir Shanker, Bruce Hall, Sarah Olson, Trevor Watkins, Anne Bernard, Huo M. Pre-operative stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases: a prospective observational study. ESTRO 2023 Oral presentation.

  17. Ramachandran P. SABR Liver – Physics Aspects (Invited Speaker). All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Cancer Update Feb 2023, Bhubaneswar, India.

  18. Ramachandran P, Mehta A, Colbert Z, Pinkham MB, Huo M, Seshadri V, Jenkin M, Foote M. Predicting the formation of new Brain Metastasis using deep learning algorithms.  Oral Presentation, Feb 14-15. MMND-ITRO 2023.

  19. Sengupta C, Nguyen DT, Moodie T, Kaczynska A, Mason D, Causer T, Liu SF, Wang T, Lee YY, Van Gysen K,, O’Brien R, Keall P. Internal motion monitoring improves treatment accuracy for liver SABR: Results from the TROG 17.03 LARK trial. ICMP 2023 Oral Presentation, Dec 2023, India.

  20. Anderson D, Mehta A, Arrington D Assessment of Variation in Hounsfield Units on the Gamma Knife Icon System Using AED Phantom and Anthropomorphic Head Phantom. Poster presentation AAPM 65th Annual Meeting & Exhibition July 2023.

  21. Ukath J, Ramachandran P, Haworth A. A novel robotic-arm assisted approach to understanding temporal dose distributions in free-breathing SBRT. Poster presentation AAPM 65th Annual Meeting & Exhibition July 2023.

  22. Brown E. I’ve got an idea! Getting started in research and developing a project protocol” ASMIRT 2023, 27-30 April 2023, Sydney. Workshop presentation.

  23. Hargrave C. AI in Radiation Therapist Education and Research. aRTificial intelligence: The opportunities for the profession workshop. ASMIRT 2023, 27-30 April 2023, Sydney. Oral presentation.

  24. Brown E “Evaluating quantitative research: Do the numbers speak for themselves?” ASMIRT 2023, Invited speaker. Oral presentation.

  25. Jones S, O’Shaughnessey J. Impact of AI on RT role. aRTificial intelligence: The opportunities for the profession workshop. ASMIRT 2023, 27-30 April 2023, Sydney. Oral presentation.

  26. Jones S, Hargrave C. A.I. in Radiation Therapy – It’s Here! THRIVE 2023 AH Research Symposium: MSH and MNH, Brisbane, August 2023. Plenary Session 2: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Invited speaker.

  27. Devonport B, Burbery J, Hargrave C, MacMahon K, Stewart K. Total Body Photography in Superficial Radiation Therapy. ASMIRT Tas Branch Winter Education Weekend, 19-20 August 2023, Oral Presentation. ***Best RT Student Paper Prize.

  28. Pullar A. Clinical Case Presentations – Paediatric CNS Malignancies MDT, CBCC, September 2023, Brisbane. Oral presentation.

  29. Tabet C, Brown A, Brown S, Hargrave C. Hypofractionation Utilisation in Radiotherapy: A regional department review. ASMIRT QLD RT Conference, Brisbane, October 2023. Oral presentation.

  30. Blyth J, Grogan M, Hargrave C, Cassim N, Simpson-Page E, Crowe S. Evaluation of a commercially available treatment bra during radiation therapy for breast cancer patients. ASMIRT QLD RT Conference, Brisbane, October 2023. Oral presentation.

  31. Effeney B, Henry K, Leader K, Becker J, Hargrave C, Pullar A. Radiation Therapist Led SBRT Lung Treatment: A Credentialing Project. ASMIRT QLD RT Conference, Brisbane, October 2023. Oral presentation.

  32. Davidson A, Becker J, Nguyen M, Deegan L, Dang T, Otter T, Hargrave C. An evaluation of 6DOF setup corrections using extended field of view CBCT on cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI) treatment accuracy” ASMIRT QLD CEC Student Paper Night, October 2023, Online event. Oral presentation.

  33. Devonport B, Burbery J, Hargrave C, McMahon K, Stewart K. Evaluating Total Body Photography (TBP) in the Superficial Radiation Therapy (SXRT) Workspace. ASMIRT QLD CEC Student Paper Night, October 2023, Online event. Oral presentation.

  34. Tabet C, Brown A, Brown S, Hargrave C. Hypofractionation Utilisation in Radiotherapy: A regional department review. ASMIRT QLD CEC Student Paper Night, October 2023, Online event. Oral presentation.

  35. Cameron C, Pollard N, Brown E. An Evaluation of Image Verification Shifts in VMAT Breast and Nodal Patients and Potential Influencing Factors. ASMIRT QLD CEC Student Paper Night, October 2023, Online event. Oral presentation. ***Awarded Best RT Paper Prize.

  36. Petersen T. Rapid Access Perspective - Palliative APRT. ANZPROG: Evolving landscape of palliative radiation session. RANZCR 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting 2023, 19 - 21 October 2023, Brisbane. Oral Presentation.

  37. Sim L, Chan M, Markwell T, Hirning M, Esposito A, Boyd J. Commissioning of EPIQA for VMAT Patient Specific QA on Varian Truebeam v2.7. EPSM 2023, 5-8 Nov 2023, Christchurch Poster Presentation.

  38. Pleschka S, Zawlodzka S, Sim L, “Interplay effects on dose to lung tumours in SBRT free breathing treatments: A respiratory phantom-based comparison of measured and Pinnacle lung tumour dose in VMAT SBRT beams” EPMS 2023,  5-8 Nov 2023 Christchurch, Oral Presentation.

  39. Pullar A. “The Evolving Role of Radiotherapy for Paediatric Sarcomas With Advancements in Molecular Tumour Characterization and Targeted Therapies - How have we adapted?” 2023 ANZSA Annual Scientific Meeting, 10 – 11 November 2023, Melbourne. Oral Presentation.

  40. Puffett A. Patient Education at the PA - Optimising Breath Hold Performance for Radiation Therapy Using the ABC System. FARO Elekta webinar, Singapore, March 2023 Invited speaker (virtual recording).

  41. Ramachandran P. Leadership in Medical Physics Amidst Continuously Evolving Technology.  QLD Branch ACPSEM Annual Symposium 2023 – 13th October 2023.

Publications

Published Abstracts

  1. Koh E-S, Barry N, Ebert MA, Moore A, Francis RJ, Ng SP, Back M, Chua B, Pinkham MB, Scott AM. Evaluating inter-observer and intra-observer variability in radiotherapy target volume delineation: credentialing programme results from the FET-PET In Glioblastoma (FIG) trial. Poster presentation, RANZCR ASM 2023. JMIRO October 2023 67(Suppl. S1), p132

  2. Mitina N, Peterson T, Guidi R, Hargrave C. A retrospective evaluation of the dosimetric parameters; Conformity Index and Gradient Index for patients with spine metastases treated with SBRT. Poster presentation, RANZCR ASM 2023. JMIRO October 2023 67(Suppl. S1), p146

  3. Boucher D, Ratnayake G, Burgess J, Suraweera A, Lopes Floro K, Bolderson E., O’Byrne K, Richard D. Targeting inflammation receptors in combination with low dose radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. Poster presentation, RANZCR ASM 2023. JMIRO October 2023 67(Suppl. S1), p133

  4. Kralik C, Thompson E, Entezam A, Fontarosa D, Fielding A, Ratnayake G, Moi D, Mazzieri R. “Exploring the Systemic Immune Effects of Radiotherapy in a Preclinical Model of Triple Negative Breast Cancer” Poster presentation, RANZCR ASM 2023. JMIRO October 2023 67(Suppl. S1), p141

  5. Ades A, Holt T, Rhee H, Webb M, Fung M, Mehdi A, Ratnayake G. Prognostic Value of PSMA PET in Predicting Long Term Biochemical Control Following Curative Intent Treatment for Prostate Cancer. Oral Presentation. RANZCR ASM 2023. JMIRO October 2023 67(Suppl. S1), p169

  6. Koh E-S,Pinkham MB, Pullar AP, Ngai S, Yu C,Scott AM. A prospective, multi-centre trial of FET-PET In Glioblastoma (FIG) patients (TROG 18.06): trial in progress. Poster presentation, COGNO ASM 2023.

  7. Beldham-Collins R, Brown E. ASMIRT research support services – helping empower local practitioners. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p31

  8. Cheung W, Lamprecht W. Evaluating the impact of contour changes on reduced arc VMAT breast dosimetry. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p33

  9. Rough L, Burbery J, Rutledge P, Hargrave C, Brown E. An evaluation of treatment time and intrafraction motion in stereotactic body radiation therapy. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p52 *** RT Student Paper Encouragement Award.

  10. Puffett A, Zhao M. Translating the treatment: educating and instructing non-English speaking patients for DIBH/EEBH radiation therapy. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p63

  11. Johns E, Hargrave C, Nissen L, Pinkham M, Bernard A, Barry T. Predicting normal brain dose in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for single brain metastases using VMAT. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p73

  12. Brown E, Barry T, Mai T, Harvey J. Clinical experience of a new tattoo device: a change for comfort. Poster Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p84

  13. Henry K, Effeney B, Hargrave C, Becker J, Pullar A. Shaping the future of stereotactic body radiation therapy: radiation therapist-led image guided radiation therapy credentialing program for SBRT lung. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p22

  14. Hering H, Effeney B, Brady C, Hargrave C. An evaluation of ankle and foot bolus in paediatric modulated arc total body irradiation. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p50 *** Best RT Student Paper Prize.

  15. Jones S, Yim J, Brown A, Van Gysen K, Erskine B, Moorin R. Exploring value-based health care in medical radiation sciences: costing analysis case studies. Poster Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p115

  16. Walsh J, Hargrave C, Burbery J, Rattray G, Nissen L. Pilot evaluation of a patient reported experience survey tool specific to radiation therapy procedures. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p4

  17. McCullough B, Willis D, Burbery J, Hargrave C. Breathing ‘right’: a novel comparison of coached respiratory motion. Oral Presentation, ASMIRT 2023. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023 April;70(S1), p50

Research Articles

  1. Liu, H.Y.-h., Hardcastle, N., Bailey, M., Siva, S., Seeley, A., Barry, T., Booth, J., Lao, L., Roach, M., Buxton, S., Thwaites, D. and Foote, M. (2024), Guidelines for safe practice of stereotactic body (ablative) radiation therapy: RANZCR 2023 update. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-9485.13618

  2. Matthews E, McDowell L, Halkett GKB, O’Connor M, Gibson C, Sheppard DM. Return to work for survivors of head and neck cancer: an Australian perspective. Cancer Survivorship Research & Care.1-14.  DOI: 10.1080/28352610.2023.2276101

  3. Harris, G; Jones, S; Pinkham, MB; Lion, KM; Ownsworth, T. Reliability and validity of the telephone-based version of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale for Assessing Depression in Individuals with Primary Brain Tumour. Disab Rehab 2023. Apr 5:1-9. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2023.2191015

  4. McDowell L, Gough K, Fua T, Coleman A, Drosdowsky A, Rischin D, Corry J. A longitudinal study evaluating sexual health outcomes and prioritization in patients undergoing chemoradiation for human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Oct 19:S0360-3016(23)08013-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.10.006. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37865126.

  5. Joseph, R., Hart, N.H., Bradford, N., Wallen, M., Han, C., Pinkham, E., Hanley, B., Lock, G., Wyld, D., Wishart, L., Koczwara, B., Chan, A., Agbejule, O., Crichton, M., Teleni, L., Holland, J., Edminston, K., Naumann, L., Brown, T., & Chan, R. Essential elements of optimal dietary and exercise referral practices for cancer survivors: expert consensus for medical and nursing health professionals. Support Care Cancer 31, 46 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07509-1

  6. Khoon Lee C, Soon Y, Jeffree R, Joshi R, Koh E, Lam W, Le H, Lwin Z, Pinkham M, Siva S, Ng E, John T. Management Paradigm of Central Nervous System Metastases in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An Australian Perspective. JTO Clinical Res Reports 2023, 26;4(9):100553.

  7. Mehta, A; Arrington, D; Ramachandran, P; Motley, R; Seshadri, V; Anderson, D; Lehman, M; Perrett, B. Investigation of Computed Tomography Numbers on Multiple Imaging Systems using Single and Multislice Methods. Journal of Medical Physics 48(1):p 26-37, Jan–Mar 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/jmp.jmp_3_23

  8. Nicholson OA, Van Lanschot CGF, van den Besselaar BN, Aaboubout Y, Iseli T, Hardillo JAU, Mast H, McDowell L, Koljenović S, Kranz S, Baatenburg de Jong RJ, Keereweer S, Wiesenfeld D. Management of the neck in T1 and T2 buccal squamous cell carcinoma. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2023 Aug 26:S0901-5027(23)00165-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ijom.2023.07.004. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37640565.

  9. Thai AA, Young RJ, Bressel M, Angel C, McDowell L, Tiong A, Bucknell NW, Fellowes A, Xu H, Trigos A, Rischin D, Solomon BJ. Comprehensive profiling identifies tumour and immune-microenvironmental differences in clinical subsets of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Dermatol. 2023 Jul 20:ljad250. doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljad250. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37470440.

  10. McDowell L, Bressel M, King MT, Corry J, Kenny L, Porceddu S, Wratten C, Macann A, Jackson JE, Rischin D. Patient-Reported Symptom Severity, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Emotional Distress Trajectories During and After Radiation Therapy for Human Papillomavirus-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer: A TROG 12.01 Secondary Analysis. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Aug 1;116(5):1110-1125. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.02.041. Epub 2023 Mar 1. PMID: 36868523.

  11. Smith A, Gao M, Tran M, Ftanou M, Jegathees S, Wu V, Jefford M, Lynch F, Dhillon HM, Shaw J, McDowell L, White A, Halloran C, Wiesenfeld D, Bamgboje-Ayodele A. Evaluation of the validity and screening performance of a revised single-item fear of cancer recurrence screening measure (FCR-1r). Psychooncology. 2023 Apr 30. doi: 10.1002/pon.6139. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37120796.

  12. Liu HY, Lee YD, Sridharan S, Wang W, Khor R, Chu J, Oar A, Choong ES, Le H, Shanker M, Wigg A, Stuart K, Pryor D. Definitive Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Early-Stage Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Australian Multi-Institutional Review of Outcomes. Clinical Oncology. 2023 September doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2023.08.012.

  13. McDowell L, Rischin D, King MT, Kenny L, Porceddu S, Wratten C, Macann A, Jackson JE, Bressel M, Fua T, Lin C, Liu C, Corry J. Patient- and clinician-reported outcomes in human papillomavirus–associated tonsillar carcinoma treated with unilateral and bilateral intensity-modulated radiotherapy – a substudy from TROG12.01. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Jan 1;115(1):174-188. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.08.006. Epub 2022 Aug 10. PMID: 35961477.

  14. Richardson M, Sidhom M, Keall P, Leigh L, Ball H, Bucci J, Gallagher S, Greer P, Hayden AJ, Kneebone A, Pryor D, Siva S, Martin J. Genitourinary Quality-of-Life Comparison Between Urethral Sparing Prostate Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Monotherapy and Virtual High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Boost.  Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Aug 1;116(5):1069-1078. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.02.049. Epub 2023 Mar 7. PMID: 36889514 Clinical Trial.

  15. Henson CE, Abou-Foul AK, Morton DJ, McDowell L, Baliga S, Bates J, Lee A, Bonomo P, Szturz P, Nankivell P, Huang SH, Lydiatt WM, O’Sullivan B, Mehanna H. Diagnostic challenges and prognostic implications of extranodal extension in head and neck cancer: a state of the art review and gap analysis. Front Oncol. 2023 Sep 20;13:1263347. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1263347. PMID: 37799466; PMCID: PMC10548228.

  16. Ali M, Wood S, Pryor D, et al. NeoAdjuvant pembrolizumab and STEreotactic radiotherapy prior to nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (NAPSTER): A phase II randomised clinical trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2023;33(101145):101145. doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2023.101145.

  17. Thomson DJ, Henson C, Huang SH, McDowell LJ, Mierzwa M, Wilke C, Margalit DN. The Interplay Between Radiation Dose, Volume, and Systemic Therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Aug 1;116(5):967-971. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.02.047. PMID: 37453792.

  18. Ownsworth T, Chambers S, Foote M , Pinkham MB  et al. Evaluation of the telehealth making sense of brain tumor psychological support intervention for people with primary brain tumour and their caregivers: A randomized controlled trial. Psychooncology. 2023;32(9):1385-1394. doi:10.1002/pon.6189

  19. Chen B, Butler N, O’Rourke T, Hodgkinson P, Stuart K, Shih E, Leggett D, Pryor D, Liu H, Lee D. Refining stereotactic body radiation therapy as a bridge to transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: An institutional experience. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2023 Apr;67(3):299-307. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.13509. Epub 2023 Feb 24. PMID: 36825762.

  20. Siva S, Sakyanun P, Mai T, Pryor D et al. Long-term outcomes of TROG 13.01 SAFRON II randomized trial of single- versus multifraction stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy for pulmonary oligometastases. J Clin Oncol. 2023;41(19):3493-3498. doi:10.1200/jco.23.00150

  21. Min H, Dowling J, Jameson MG, Cloak K, Faustino J, Sidhom M, Martin J, Cardoso M, Ebert MA, Haworth A, Chlap P, de Leon J, Berry M, Pryor D, et al. Clinical target volume delineation quality assurance for MRI-guided prostate radiotherapy using deep learning with uncertainty estimation. Radiother Oncol. 2023 Sep;186:109794. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2023.109794. Epub 2023 Jul 4. PMID: 37414257.

  22. Pitt R, Hutchison A, Pigott A, Brown B. Safety and acceptability of a modified swallowing impairment screening assessment via nasendoscopy following head and neck cancer treatment: a feasibility study. Speech Lang Hear. Published online 2023:1-12. doi:10.1080/2050571x.2023.2248696.

  23. Chee Khoon Lee YY, Soon RL, Jeffree R, Pinkham MB et al. Management Paradigm of Central Nervous System Metastases in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An Australian Perspective. JTO Clinical Res Reports. 2023.

  24. Chu W, Houston ZH, Fletcher NL, Pinkham MB et al. Development and Validation of a Targeted Treatment for Brain Tumours Using a Multi-drug Loaded, Relapse-Resistant Polymeric Theranostic. In: Pie Huda, Muneer Ahamed, Ting Xiang Lim.  Biomacromolecules 2023 Vol 24. ; 2023:2674-2690.

  25. Lion, KM; Pike, KE; Dhillon, HM; Koh, ES; Pinkham, MB; Shaw, J; Halkett GKB; Ownsworth, T for the BRAINS Program Investigators. Access to psychosocial support for people with brain tumor and family members: Healthcare professional perspectives.. Psycho-Oncology 2023; 32(6) 980-988.

  26. Nicol C, Pinkham MB, Lion K, et al. Individuals’ perceptions of health and well-being in the context of stereotactic radiosurgery for benign brain tumour: A longitudinal qualitative investigation. Neuropsychol Rehabil. Published online 2023:1-24. doi:10.1080/09602011.2023.2181190.

  27. Martin JA, Hart NH, Bradford N, Pinkham MB, Pinkham EP et al. Prevalence and management of sleep disturbance in adults with primary brain tumours and their caregivers: a systematic review. J Neurooncol. 2023;162(1):25-44. doi:10.1007/s11060-023-04270-1

  28. Haslam, P., Brown, E., Burbery, J., Hargrave, C. and Lee, YY. (2023), To degas or not to degas? The effectiveness of pharmaceuticals in reducing the impact of bowel volume variations during liver SBRT treatment. J Med Radiat Sci. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.714.

  29. Mehta A, Lehman M, Ramachandran P. Autosegmentation of lung computed tomography datasets using deep learning U-Net architecture. Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics. 2023 Jan 1;19(2):289-98.

  30. Shields B, Ramachandran P. Generating missing patient anatomy from partially acquired cone-beam computed tomography images using deep learning: a proof of concept. Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine. 2023;46(3):1321.

  31. Ramachandran P, Eswarlal T, Lehman M, Colbert Z. Assessment of Optimizers and their Performance in Autosegmenting Lung Tumors. Journal of Medical Physics. 2023 Apr;48(2):129.

  32. Colbert ZM, Ramachandran P. Auto-Segmentation of Thoracic Organs in CT Scans of Breast Cancer Patients using a 3D U-Net Cascaded into PatchGANs. Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express. 2023 Jul 11;9(5):055011.

  33. Sengupta C, Nguyen DT, Moodie T, Mason D, Luo J, Causer T, Liu SF, Brown E, Inskip L, Hazem M, Chao M, Wang T, Lee YY, van Gysen K, Sullivan E, Cosgriff E, Ramachandran P, Poulsen P, Booth J, O’Brien R, Greer P, Keall P. The first clinical implementation of real-time 6 degree-of-freedom image-guided radiotherapy for liver SABR patients. Radiother Oncol. 2023 Nov 24;190:110031. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2023.110031.

  34. Shields B, Ramachandran P. Generating uncaptured anatomy from cone-beam CT images via machine learning. Australian Physics.  60(4), Oct - Dec 2023.

  35. Chant T, Ramachandran P. Design and Development of a Low-cost Integrated Dosimeter for External Beam Dosimetry in Radiation Oncology. Journal of Medical Physics.2023 Oct 1;48(4):392-7.

  36. Pattenden TA, Thangasamy IA, Ong WL, Samaranayke D, Morton A, Murphy DG, Evans S, Millar J, Chalasani V, Rashid P, Winter M, Vela I, Pryor D, Mark S, Loeb S, Lawrentschuk N, Pritchard E. Barriers and enablers of active surveillance for prostate cancer: a qualitive study of clinicians.
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  37. Clark S, Pollard N, Brown E. An evaluation of isocentre shift magnitude and treatment site on image-guided radiation therapy online decision analysis times. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023;70(3):301-309. doi:10.1002/jmrs.671

  38. Naidoo T, Chamunyonga C, Burbery J, Rutledge P. Identifying methods to best integrate indigenous knowledge and perspectives within the radiation therapy undergraduate curriculum. J Med Radiat Sci. 2023;70(2):183-191. doi:10.1002/jmrs.660

  39. Daly T, Veness M, Poulsen M, Muir J, De’Ambrosis B, Kennedy D. Wide-field radiation therapy for skin cancerisation - Have we forgotten what we learned? J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2023;67(1):128-131. doi:10.1111/1754-9485.13489

  40. 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’. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2023;48(3):239. doi:10.1093/ced/llac067

  41. Lawless A, Kneebone A, Armstrong S, Chander S, Christie D, Finnigan R, Hayden A, Higgs B, Knox M, Sasso G, Sidhom M, Shakespeare TP, Holt T. Patterns of practice regarding use of radiation therapy following radical prostatectomy: A survey of Radiation Oncologists and Urologists in Australia and New Zealand. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2023;67(5):556-563. doi:10.1111/1754-9485.13552.

  42. Mazzoni D, Daly T, Muir J. Role of volumetric modulated arc therapy in skin field cancerisation. Aust J Gen Pract. 2023;52(8):543-546. doi:10.31128/AJGP-11-22-6600

  43. Jones S, Thompson K, Porter B, Shepherd M, Sapkaroski D, Grimshaw A, Hargrave C. Automation and artificial intelligence in radiation therapy treatment planning. J Med Radiat Sci. Published online October 4, 2023. doi:10.1002/jmrs.729

  44. Brown A, McCoola B, Funnell Y, Hargrave C. Meaningful consumer engagement in medical radiation sciences: enhancing quality improvement and research projects. J Med Radiat Sci. Published online December 20, 2023. doi:10.1002/jmrs.747

Collaborative Trials Portfolio

Trial Activity Table 2023

Acknowledgements in preparing the 2023 report 
 Rochelle Palleson, Dr Elizabeth Brown, Dr Cathy Hargrave, Andrew Puffett & the entire PAH Radiation Oncology Research Team.