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There is no question that radiopharmaceuticals have a role in the management of patients with metastatic bone disease. There is also no question that fractionated external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is highly effective and generally well tolerated when delivered with large open or focal fields.

In order to achieve maximum survival of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, the judicious use of all available effective agents and modalities is required. Both EBRT and radium-223 are effective at relieving pain, but both may decrease bone marrow function.

As new data and new treatment options emerge, palliative radiotherapy algorithms will need to undergo continuous modifications and updates to ensure that patients receive optimal symptom relief.

Moving forward, perhaps no recent development in the use of RT in metastatic prostate cancer has captured greater attention than the use of radium-223 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

This review will include discussion of the role of radiation therapy for osseous metastases and metastatic spinal cord compression, as well as the use of radiopharmaceuticals for painful osseous metastases.

It is important for all of us now and then to take a step back and recapture the wonder that we all felt at the onset of our careers, when treatments we now consider simple and routine held an aura of miracle. For me, a little bit of that wonder returns every time I treat a patient with a bony metastasis-in particular, from prostate cancer.

I find it difficult to put a price tag on what I do. It is mainly a thinking profession we are in, though in recent years it has become more like data entry!

Multidisciplinary care teams are an important aspect of patient-centered care and are slowly become more common place at community cancer centers. For those working at smaller hospitals or centers, it is important to use every type of resource available and in a lot of cases those resources include the nonclinical care force including family members, clergy, and volunteers.

By the year 2020 it is estimated that about 18% of the US population will be Medicare eligible and growing advances in the treatment of cancer have significantly increased the number of cancer survivors. These two growing populations have large implications on the demand for cancer services.

A session at the ACCC annual meeting addressed some of the top reimbursement issues associated with clinical trials and some strategies for how to manage them.

At the ACCC annual meeting, Jessica Turgon, MBA, from ECG Management Consultants discusses how and why providers and payers are beginning to work together to explore alternate payment models in oncology.

In 2011, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer announced several new patient-centered standards that were designed to ensure that key elements of quality cancer care are provided to every person with cancer treated at an accredited facility.

An FDA panel has recommended that a DNA test that screens for HPV in women can replace the standard Pap smear as a first-line primary cervical cancer screening test.

The Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) recently issued two new clinical practice statements recommending genetic testing for all women with endometrial and ovarian cancers, regardless of family history.

New guidelines supporting the broader use of sentinel lymph node biopsy in women with early-stage breast cancer have been issued by ASCO.

In this interview we preview the 2014 annual meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers with Matthew Farber, director of provider economics and public policy for the association.

In order to remain independent, community oncologists must align themselves with a critical mass of providers in their local or regional markets and be prepared to accept more financial risk for the quality and cost of care they provide.

A new report by ASCO provides recommendations for monitoring and addressing the changes and challenges in oncology care.

The number of cancer patients in the United States is growing; the oncology workforce is shrinking; and increasing costs and healthcare policy changes in this country are likely to put quality cancer care, screening, and preventive services in flux.

Patients treated with a newer, faster, and less expensive type of radiotherapy also have higher rates of urinary complications, according to a new study.

We now have more tools than ever in the fight against tobacco-related death and disability, but unfortunately, there is not equal access to resources for smoking cessation, early lung cancer diagnosis, and treatment.

This kidney cancer slide show features images of chromophobe, papillary, and clear-cell renal cell carcinomas; as well as sarcomatoid, transitional cell, and small-cell carcinomas of the kidney.

A new set of ASCO recommendations are now available for oncologists on how to collect and utilize the cancer family history of a recently diagnosed cancer patient.

This slide show includes some of the highlights from the 2014 ASCO Genitourinary Symposium, including a study looking at anti-HER2 agents and radiation therapy (RT) for bladder cancer, RT for prostate cancer, and novel therapies in RCC.

The risk for burnout appears to rise in direct proportion to the number of hours oncologists spend on direct patient care, according to a recent survey by ASCO.

Survivorship is very much about lifestyle factors. Diet, exercise, weight control, and alcohol use must be part of our conversation each visit. Patients must see these as part of our “prescription” for their cancer treatment.

After a long session of office hours the other day that can be best described as an amateur rendition of a three-ring circus, I had a strange epiphany: Hospitals are making it more difficult for me to get my work done.

An analysis of thyroid cancer diagnosis and incidence in the United States suggests that there is an epidemic of diagnosis rather than an epidemic of thyroid cancer per se.

Using EHRs to generate survivorship care plans has the potential to expand use of the plans and improve coordination of follow-up care among oncologists, survivors, and primary care physicians, according to a recent study.

A recent survey of the medical oncologists and oncology nursing staff at UCH showed that 71% of physicians feel Beacon has made patient treatment easier for providers.