TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution and accomplishments of the radiation therapy oncology group
AU - Cox, James D.
N1 - Funding Information:
problem of possible errors in measurement and calcula-tion when treating patients by interinstitutional protocol, the Radiological Physics Center (RPC) was established in Houston under the direction of Robert J. Shalek, Ph.D. ( 19). Over the 25 years of its existence, the RPC has made measurements on well over half the treatment units in the United States, thus reducing the already small risk of misadministration due to calibration error. Disappointments have occurred in three major areas (5 ) : radiation sensitizers, biologic response modifiers, and hyperthermia. In each case, laboratory investigations provided a compelling rationale for the clinical trials. In the case of rudiution-sensitizing drugs, especially the electron-affinic nitroimadazoles, the reason for failure in clinical applications is partially understood. It did not prove possible to achieve drug concentrations in hypoxic cells in vivo as high as those achieved in the laboratory. Hope still remains for a beneficial effect of the more hydrophilic compound, etanidozole, but the preliminary reports from Europe are not encouraging (4). A series of biologic response modifiers (BRMs) , especially immune modulating or restoring agents, has thus far not proved beneficial. While other groups studied bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and the methanol-extractable residue of this bacillus to no avail, the RTOG first studied levamisole in combination with radiation therapy. Not only were the results not superior to those of radiation therapy alone, but there was a suggestion of an adverse effect. More recent studies of thymosin have not yielded better results. In the last few years, a previously unimaginable array of biologic molecules has been discovered, but there has been no consistent suggestion from the laboratory that any of them would have a favorable interaction with ionizing radiations. A single clinical experience has again raised the hope that BRMs could enhance radiation effects; a Phase III trial of beta-interferon is underway for patients with nonsmall cell carcinoma of the lung who have an especially unfavorable prognosis (28). Very compelling laboratory data for favorable interactions of hyperthermiu with radiations led to the funding of a vast research program by the Radiation Research Program of the NCI, and the initiation of several clinical trials by the RTOG. Problems with thermal dose distribution and measurement, and the inability to focus heat sufficiently in humans, have impeded these investigations and led to the RTOG’s decision to discontinue research plans for this modality. In spite of these negative trials, the benefits of an increasingly rigorous quality assurance program within the RTOG almost certainly enhanced the care of tens of thousands of patients in the participating institutions throughout North America. As new modalities were introduced in cooperative clinical trials, guidelines were developed for them and were made widely available. These guidelines provided assistance to physicians applying these modalities in the community beyond the needs specific to clinical investigations.
PY - 1995/10/15
Y1 - 1995/10/15
N2 - Purpose: The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) recently completed its first quarter century as a cooperative clinicl cancer research organization. It is timely and appropriate to document its origins, evolution, and accomplishments. Methods and Materials: The historical review of the RTOG called upon written and oral documentation. Results: The RTOG is the most enduring product of the Committee for Radiation Therapy Studies (CRTS). Although not one of the original 17 clinical trials groups developed by the National Cancer Institute in 1956, the RTOG has pursued trials suggested by laboratory findings including the oxygen effect, intrinsic radiosensitivity, proliferation kinetics of normal and tumor cells, and interactions with other cytotoxic agents. Improvements in survival have been demonstrated for patients with carcinoma of the esophagus and cervix, and nonsmall cell carcinomas of the lung. The national and international radiation oncology communities have benefitted from standards and quality control/assurance guidelines for established and new modalities. A growing number of institutions in North America participate in RTOG trials. Conclusions: The RTOG is an important clinical research resource, which has contributed to improved otucome for patients with many forms of cancer. It has become increasingly productive and widely adopted and endorsed by oncologists throughout North America.
AB - Purpose: The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) recently completed its first quarter century as a cooperative clinicl cancer research organization. It is timely and appropriate to document its origins, evolution, and accomplishments. Methods and Materials: The historical review of the RTOG called upon written and oral documentation. Results: The RTOG is the most enduring product of the Committee for Radiation Therapy Studies (CRTS). Although not one of the original 17 clinical trials groups developed by the National Cancer Institute in 1956, the RTOG has pursued trials suggested by laboratory findings including the oxygen effect, intrinsic radiosensitivity, proliferation kinetics of normal and tumor cells, and interactions with other cytotoxic agents. Improvements in survival have been demonstrated for patients with carcinoma of the esophagus and cervix, and nonsmall cell carcinomas of the lung. The national and international radiation oncology communities have benefitted from standards and quality control/assurance guidelines for established and new modalities. A growing number of institutions in North America participate in RTOG trials. Conclusions: The RTOG is an important clinical research resource, which has contributed to improved otucome for patients with many forms of cancer. It has become increasingly productive and widely adopted and endorsed by oncologists throughout North America.
KW - Clinical trials
KW - Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
KW - Radiation therapy
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U2 - 10.1016/0360-3016(95)00211-G
DO - 10.1016/0360-3016(95)00211-G
M3 - Article
C2 - 7558966
AN - SCOPUS:0028970572
SN - 0360-3016
VL - 33
SP - 747
EP - 754
JO - International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
JF - International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
IS - 3
ER -