Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology: Report from the Eleventh Annual Meeting (2024)

Founded in 2014, the Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology (SPRO) is a non-profit professional organization that functions at the local, national, and international levels to promote excellence in palliative radiation oncology care and to promote generalist palliative care skills within the field of radiation oncology (1). The Society’s membership consists of clinicians, educators, and researchers from the fields of Radiation Oncology and Palliative Medicine, drawing from academic and community settings globally.

SPRO’s 11^th Annual Meeting was held in Washington D.C. on September 29, 2024. Dr. Emily Martin, SPRO President and Chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, opened the meeting by highlighting the Society’s accomplishments since the 10^th Annual Meeting (2). She expressed gratitude for the valuable contributions of SPRO members, its core Committees, and the Board of Directors (Figure 1). Dr. Martin summarized SPRO’s 2024 Quarterly Meetings, which emphasized issues of equity and access, and summarized the Society’s 2024 Financial Report.

Figure 1 SPRO leadership gathered for a group photo. SPRO, Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Sara Alcorn, SPRO Vice President and Chair of the SPRO Membership Committee, announced the recipient of the 2024 Rising Star Award, Dr. Annie LaVigne (Figure 2). She summarized Dr. LaVigne’s contributions including creation of an inpatient palliative radiation service at Johns Hopkins Hospital, implementation of Reflection Rounds to provide a space for the care team to process emotions associated with caring for patients with advanced cancer, and building a practice in the realm of Health Humanities, with attention to the intersection of the arts and Radiation Oncology. Her research in the palliative care domain has focused on identifying predictors of survival for patients receiving palliative radiation, geospatial mapping of palliative radiotherapy access, and improving patient-specific quality of life through the lens of personomics.

Figure 2 Dr. Sara Alcorn (left) presented the Rising Star Award to Dr. Annie LaVigne (right).

Dr. Alcorn then acknowledged the recent loss of SPRO member, colleague, and recipient of the 2023 Rising Star Award, Dr. Shekinah Elmore. Dr. Elmore was a pioneer, visionary, and advocate for equitable global oncology care. Dr. Alcorn announced that, moving forward, the SPRO annual keynote presentation will be named in honor of Dr. Elmore.

Dr. Jared Robbins, a member of SPRO’s Annual Meeting Committee, then introduced the Keynote Speaker, C. Paola Tello Valverde, from Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Her presentation, “The Impact of Short-Course Palliative Radiation Therapy on Pancreatic Cancer-Related Pain: Prospective Phase 2 Non-Randomized PAINPANC Trial,” described the outcomes of the trial, which tested the effects of 24 Gy in 3 fractions given weekly for patients with moderate to severe pain related to unresectable pancreatic cancer. Seventy percent of patient completed all 3 fractions, and 80% had durable reduction in their pain that lasted until death or the last follow-up in almost 90% of responders. Similarly, quality of life also improved after treatment. The median survival after radiotherapy was 11.8 months, and over 50% of patients achieved a reduction in their use of pain medications following treatment. The treatment was well tolerated, with fatigue and nausea being the most common side effects. These data suggest that short-course palliative radiotherapy may allow for significant improvements in pain and symptoms while not being overly burdensome to patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. The presentation was well received by all and generated a robust discussion.

Drs. Candice Johnstone and Malcolm Mattes facilitated a group discussion emphasizing priorities for the year ahead including a website redesign and new leadership opportunities. Dr. Charles B. Simone II, the Editor-in Chief of Annals of Palliative Medicine (APM), reminded the attendees that APM is the official journal of SPRO and features a standing Palliative Radiotherapy Column, co-edited by Drs. Candice Johnstone and Shing Fung (Michael) Lee, which can be a good option for pertinent article submissions from SPRO investigators.

Dr. Martin concluded the meeting by thanking all attendees for the rich discussion and continued engagement.

To learn more about SPRO or to join the mailing list, visit www.spro.org.

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/apm-25-17/coif). C.J. serves as the unpaid co-chair for the Palliative Radiotherapy Subcommittee of Annals of Palliative Medicine from February 2022 to January 2026. C.B.S. II serves as the co-Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Palliative Medicine from April 2014 to April 2027. S.A. reports receiving funding from the Radiation Oncology Institute, the Prostate Cancer Foundation-Pfizer, and the Theodore L. DeWeese Innovative Research Award; has served on the Vice President of Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology; and is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics (IJROBP) and a committee member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). C.J. has served as the Current Secretary/Treasurer in the Board of Trustees of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), the Councilor to American College of Radiology (ACR) in the Board of Trustees of the Wisconsin Radiological Society, and as the Past President in the Board of Trustees of the American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR). M.D.M. reports grant from Gilead Sciences. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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References

1. Wei R, Simone CB 2nd, Lutz S. Society for palliative radiation oncology: founding, vision, and report from the Second Annual Meeting. Ann Palliat Med 2016;5:74-5. [Crossref] [PubMed]
2. Martin EJ, Bruggeman AR, Chang E, et al. Society for Palliative Radiation Oncology: report from the Tenth Annual Meeting (2023). Ann Palliat Med 2024;13:465-7. [Crossref] [PubMed]