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There is a lack of consistency in conducting and reporting analyses from IOV studies. We suggest a framework to use for future studies evaluating IOV.

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings in lung cancer. The objective of this study was to compare the patterns of care for patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer who were presented at a lung cancer MDT meeting with the patterns of care for patients who were not presented. METHODS: All patients who had lung cancer newly diagnosed in South West Sydney (SWS) between December 1, 2005, and December 31, 2008, were identified from the local Clinical Cancer Registry. Patient and tumor characteristics and treatment receipt were compared between patients who were and were not presented at MDT meetings. A logistic regression model was constructed to determine predictors for receiving treatment and survival. RESULTS: In total, there were 988 patients, including 504 patients who were presented at MDT meetings and 484 who were not presented at MDT meetings. The median patient age was 69 years and 73 years in the MDT group and the non-MDT group, respectively (P < .01). There was no pathologic diagnosis for 13% of non-MDT patients compared with 4% of MDT patients (P < .01). Treatment receipt for MDT patients versus non-MDT patients was 12% versus 13%, respectively, for surgery (P value nonsignificant); 66% versus 33%, respectively, for radiotherapy (P < .001); 46% versus 29%, respectively, for chemotherapy (P < .001); and 66% versus 53%, respectively, for palliative care (P < .001). In patients with good performance status, the MDT group had significantly better receipt of radiotherapy among patients with stage I through IV nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and had significantly better receipt of chemotherapy among patients with stage IV NSCLC. MDT discussion was an independent predictor of receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and referral to palliative care but did not influence survival. CONCLUSIONS: MDT discussion was associated with better treatment receipt, which potentially may improve quality of life for patients with lung cancer. However, it did not improve survival. Cancer 2011;117:5112-20. V C 2011 American Cancer Society.KEYWORDS: chemotherapy, lung neoplasms, multidisciplinary teams, palliative care, radiotherapy.Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings are becoming increasingly common in the management of complex diseases. These meetings are gatherings of health care professionals with or without patients with the purpose of discussing individual cases and recommending a management plan. Cancer is an example of this process in which input from multiple health care professionals is required.Studies have demonstrated that the management of cancer patients in an MDT setting improves outcomes. In breast cancer, MDTs reportedly decreased the time from diagnosis to treatment and improved patient satisfaction.1 In rectal cancer, MDT discussion of staging with magnetic resonance imaging and subsequent preoperative treatment recommendations significantly reduced the rate of positive surgical margins.2 In head and neck cancers, MDTs were cost effective 3 an...

The exquisite soft-tissue contrast of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has meant that the technique is having an increasing role in contouring the gross tumor volume (GTV) and organs at risk (OAR) in radiation therapy treatment planning systems (TPS). MRI-planning scans from diagnostic MRI scanners are currently incorporated into the planning process by being registered to CT data. The soft-tissue data from the MRI provides target outline guidance and the CT provides a solid geometric and electron density map for accurate dose calculation on the TPS computer. There is increasing interest in MRI machine placement in radiotherapy clinics as an adjunct to CT simulators. Most vendors now offer 70 cm bores with flat couch inserts and specialised RF coil designs. We would refer to these devices as MR-simulators. There is also research into the future application of MR-simulators independent of CT and as in-room image-guidance devices. It is within the background of this increased interest in the utility of MRI in radiotherapy treatment planning that this paper is couched. The paper outlines publications that deal with standard MRI sequences used in current clinical practice. It then discusses the potential for using processed functional diffusion maps (fDM) derived from diffusion weighted image sequences in tracking tumor activity and tumor recurrence. Next, this paper reviews publications that describe the use of MRI in patient-management applications that may, in turn, be relevant to radiotherapy treatment planning. The review briefly discusses the concepts behind functional techniques such as dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE), diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI sequences and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). Significant applications of MR are discussed in terms of the following treatment sites: brain, head and neck, breast, lung, prostate and cervix. While not yet routine, the use of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map analysis indicates an exciting future application for functional MRI. Although DW-MRI has not yet been routinely used in boost adaptive techniques, it is being assessed in cohort studies for sub-volume boosting in prostate tumors.

Inter-observer variability in volume delineation can be reduced with the use of guidelines, provision of autocontours and teaching. The use of multimodality imaging is useful in certain tumour sites.

Treatment patterns were in broad concordance with present national guidelines. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of lung cancer patients did not receive cancer-specific therapy. Treatment decisions should be multidisciplinary and decision-makers should include experienced lung cancer specialists.

ObjectiveHealth‐related stigma is associated with negative psychological and quality of life outcomes in lung cancer patients. This study describes the impact of stigma on lung cancer patients' psychological distress and quality of life and explores the role of social constraints and illness appraisal as mediators of effect.MethodsA self‐administered cross‐sectional survey examined psychological distress and quality of life in 151 people (59% response rate) diagnosed with lung cancer from Queensland and New South Wales. Health‐related stigma, social constraints and illness appraisals were assessed as predictors of adjustment outcomes.ResultsForty‐nine percent of patients reported elevated anxiety; 41% were depressed; and 51% had high global distress. Health‐related stigma was significantly related to global psychological distress and quality of life with greater stigma and shame related to poorer outcomes. These effects were mediated by illness appraisals and social constraints.ConclusionsHealth‐related stigma appears to contribute to poorer adjustment by constraining interpersonal discussions about cancer and heightening feelings of threat. There is a need for the development and evaluation of interventions to ameliorate the negative effects of health‐related stigma among lung cancer patients. © 2015 The Authors. Psycho‐Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Inter-observer variability in anatomical contouring is the biggest contributor to uncertainty in radiation treatment planning. Contouring studies are frequently performed to investigate the differences between multiple contours on common datasets. There is, however, no widely accepted method for contour comparisons. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on contouring studies in the context of radiation oncology, with particular consideration of the contouring comparison methods they employ. A literature search, not limited by date, was conducted using Medline and Google Scholar with key words: contour, variation, delineation, inter/intra observer, uncertainty and trial dummy-run. This review includes a description of the contouring processes and contour comparison metrics used. The use of different processes and metrics according to tumour site and other factors were also investigated with limitations described. A total of 69 relevant studies were identified. The most common tumour sites were prostate (26), lung (10), head and neck cancers (8) and breast (7).The most common metric of comparison was volume used 59 times, followed by dimension and shape used 36 times, and centre of volume used 19 times. Of all 69 publications, 67 used a combination of metrics and two used only one metric for comparison. No clear relationships between tumour site or any other factors that may influence the contouring process and the metrics used to compare contours were observed from the literature. Further studies are needed to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each metric in various situations.