Stage III Thoracic Cancer Debates

Stage III Thoracic Cancer Debates is organized by American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Course Opens: 01/31/2022
Course Expires: 01/30/2025

Description:
The course consists of two debates. The first debate consists of two thoracic oncologists with one arguing for the use of surgery and one against the use of surgery for patients with stage III NSCLC. The second debate puts two radiation oncologists with one arguing for proton beam therapy and the other for standard IMRT for treatment of patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Each discussant will have about 10 minutes to present their argument followed by 10 minutes for rebuttal and questions from the moderator and audience.

An additional presentation  on the combining Immunotherapy and Radiation Therapy provides attendees with educational tools to narrow knowledge gaps with regards the use of biomarkers to optimize patient selection for cancer immunotherapy.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Discuss the benefits and risks of trimodality therapy vs. chemoradiotherapy for patients with stage III NSCLC.
• Discuss the benefits and risks of proton therapy vs. IMRT for patients with stage III NSCLC.
• Educate patients and assist in shared decision-making regarding curative treatment options for stage III NSCLC.
• Appraise the biological mechanisms underlying the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the context of radiotherapy in the treatment of Stage III NSCLC.