Radiation oncology residents will have a unique opportunity available at this year’s American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. A new workshop entitled: Principles and Skills of Brachytherapy, will be offered Saturday, September 27th hosted by the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO), free of charge. During the workshop, residents will have lectures delivered by nationally recognized physicians from Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Kristin Bradley and Dr. Mustafa Basree (pictured below), both from the University of Wisconsin, will be moderating and presenting portions of the workshop. Through a series of lectures and hands-on experience, residents will have the chance to ask leaders in the field questions, spend time with industry representatives, practice peri-rectal gel insertion, and sharpen brachytherapy skills to treat prostate and gynecological cancers.
The workshop is being offered partly in response to national trends in declining brachytherapy utilization as well as recent published data from ARRO’s Graduating Resident survey. Collected over the past five years, it showed a high level of satisfaction with resident training but low confidence in certain brachytherapy procedures with a desire for additional training. Over the years, ARRO conducted annual surveys of all graduating residents asking, in part, about their perceptions and experiences with their training, as well as perceived clinical readiness. A portion of the results, with emphasis on job market trends, is presented at ARRO Day annually, the day before ASTRO’s official start.
Based on the survey data, we wanted to be able to offer residents exposure to brachytherapy techniques and hands-on skills sessions early in their training; the annual meeting is a nice opportunity to have everyone together and be able to dedicate time and resources to a workshop.
Dr. Mustafa Basree
The group of authors that recently published the paper examining the 2020-2024 survey data includes a variety of radiation oncology stakeholders, in addition to ARRO leadership; leaders and representative from ASTRO education committee, ASTRO early-career committee, residency program directors, and American Brachytherapy Society. Results showed that while 75% of residents felt comfortable or confident with their skill set in brachytherapy treatment for gynecological cancers, less than half of the residents surveyed felt they had received adequate or sufficient training in prostate brachytherapy.
Gynecologic brachytherapy for uterine and cervical cancers is widely available across the US which explains, in part, the higher perceived confidence among graduating residents. However, the same cannot be said for prostate brachytherapy. Most residents only log 1-2 prostate cancer brachytherapy cases annually, and some institutions currently do not have active prostate brachytherapy program at all. Residents in those programs miss out on the opportunity to learn and develop this skill.
Dr. Basree said, “Based on the survey data, we wanted to be able to offer residents exposure to brachytherapy techniques and hands-on skills sessions early in their training; the annual meeting is a nice opportunity to have everyone together and be able to dedicate time and resources to a workshop. The alternative is to travel to different institutions to learn the trade, which can be done, but may involve financial and logistical resources beyond what residents and their programs are able to spend.”
The American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) has an established two-month fellowship program called 300 in 10, for PGY4 and PGY5 residents. It is designed to advance training in brachytherapy, and has a goal of training 300 brachytherapists in 10 years. While the ABS offers an excellent program, offering an additional opportunity at ASTRO through ARRO as well allows different residents to participate who may not be able to apply or take part in the ABS program.
Dr. Kristin Bradley from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the newly elected president of the American Brachytherapy Society and will be presenting on the essentials of endometrial brachytherapy during the upcoming workshop.
The three-hour brachytherapy workshop (8:30 – 11:30 am PT) will cover treatment of gynecologic and prostate cancers through lectures and hands-on training. Generous industry partners have offered their support for the workshop through donation of equipment, time, and staff. Vendors such as Elekta and Varian will be in person to demonstrate their products and instruct workshop attendees on how to use them effectively. Boston Scientific and Teleflex will also be present to demonstrate their perirectal gel insertions for prostate brachytherapy using SpaceOAR and Barrigel products, respectively.
To determine whether this workshop could become a recurring annual opportunity, Dr. Basree is implementing pre- and post-event surveys to gauge the success of the training. Questions will seek information on whether the workshop was helpful and if perceived confidence in brachytherapy was improved.
Dr. Mustafa Basree is a PGY5 chief resident in the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been on the Executive Committee of ARRO the past two years and currently acts in a supportive role to the committee. “I have had the opportunity to interact with ASTRO leadership and the board of directors during my time on the ARRO executive committee and as someone who is very passionate about education, I’m honored to be involved in high-level conversations that emerge from our resident members. The ability to address them through one of the four subcommittees and to leverage ASTRO and its resources for the service of our residents, to see a change happen in real-time, is very satisfying.”
In addition to the brachytherapy workshop Dr. Basree will be presenting two posters at ASTRO based on his research, and moderating and presenting during the ARRO Medical Student Workshop where he will lead the discussion on Intern Year and Transitioning to Residency.