Chairman's Checkup Sept 2016 by Joachim Yahalom, MD
Originally published 9/21/2016
CHAIRMAN’S CHECKUP – SEPTEMBER 2016
Several important events have taken place over the summer, numerous projects are in progress, and new plans and ideas are on the design board waiting for your input and expansion.
1- Relocation of our virtual office to Los Angeles, California.
Ms. Jessi Shuttleworth, who played a major role in the incorporation of ILROG, organizing meetings, building our new website, communicating regularly with all of us, and practically running all of ILROG’s administration as the Director of ILROG, has moved from New York City to Los Angeles, California. It is not only for better weather, but primarily to augment her blossoming career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. She was accepted to the top graduate program in the US for film—the American Film Institute (AFI). We should all be very proud of her accomplishments.
Jessi will continue to be fully engaged and even increase her responsibilities for ILROG. The new, rapidly growing ILROG website and upcoming projects are a testimony to her talent and multi-tasking ability to master more than one field.
Jessi’s new email is shuttleworth@ilrog.com
I wish Jessi, on ILROG members’ behalf, a wonderful time and much success at AFI. We are very fortunate that she continues to work with us.
2- Upgraded and newly formatted ILROG website. www.ilrog.com
The newly upgraded ILROG website is now user-friendly and contains a large amount of practical material, primarily produced by ILROG members. The website is an invaluable source of information and provides a communication forum that we will enhance.
3- ILROG Guidelines – Past and Future
We were very successful in accomplishing, discussing, composing, and publishing five major guidelines (HL, Nodal NHL, Extra-Nodal NHL, Skin, and Pediatric HL). It has changed and harmonized modern RT for lymphoma and proven to be highly popular and influential. See the attached Red Journal editorial on the most downloaded papers in 2015. ILROG Guidelines have been incorporated in several national lymphoma guidelines, and the guidelines helped, together with multiple other ILROG educational activities, to make ILROG a household name that most radiation oncologists and many lymphoma oncologists are familiar with.
The published guidelines are not perfect. Some topics require clarification, practical examples, and updating. Therefore, we should discuss the next steps and timeline.
There are early discussions within the group on upcoming new topics for guidelines:
1. Leukemia (possibly including TBI) with emphasis on the management of Chloromas - Granulocytic Sarcomas
2. RT for salvage (addressing also the incorporation of the many new systemic drugs and biologicals), likely separated to HL and to NHL
3. RT for Plasma Cell Malignancies
We will discuss more details and logistics at the Steering Committee business meeting and on upcoming web forums (soon to be created) so Council Members can also participate and contribute, and are encouraged to do so.
4- Recent and Upcoming Educational Activities
ESTRO School of Oncology Course on Hematological Malignancies with the Initiative and participation of ILROG was held in Vienna earlier this month.
It was an enormous success with participation at full capacity of 55 attendees from 29 (!) countries.
Kudos to Prof. Lena Specht, who organized and chaired the course for the second time (last year it was in London). She will report on it and the feedback received in more detail in the near future. The course lectures will soon be available on the ILROG website.
The Melbourne meeting is shaping up to become a milestone in ILROG activity. Andrew Wirth will provide more exciting details.
5- ILROG Collaborative Research Projects, Ad Hoc Committees, and New Initiatives
These projects, committees, and initiatives will be discussed at ASTRO and updates on each will be available in the next blog.