Announcements

Stereotactic body radiation therapy reviewed

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ's) Effective Health Care Program has released a new technical brief, Stereotactic Body Radiation (SBRT), which provides a broad overview of the current state of evidence on the use of SBRT for targeting solid malignant tumors. The brief also identifies gaps in the scientific data regarding the theoretical advantages of SBRT over other radiotherapies in actual clinical use.

While SBRT appears to be widely used for treatment of a variety of cancer types, none of the currently available studies includes comparison groups. AHRQ-funded researchers noted that in order to fully assess the benefits and risks of SBRT, comparative studies are needed. These studies should preferably be randomized trials but, at a minimum, there is a need for trials with concurrent controls. The technical brief also provides a review of key research questions that remain unanswered and may be helpful to radiology researchers in prioritizing future research.

To download and read the technical brief, visit the Effective Health Care Web site at http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.

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