American Oncology Institute organises conference on Hybrid Interstitial Brachytherapy

Hyderabad: The American Oncology Institute (AOI), one of the largest cancer hospital chains in South Asia organised a two-day conference on Hybrid Interstitial Brachytherapy at AOI in Hyderabad. The event was specially curated by expert international academic faculty to ensure holistic learning for both Radiation Oncologists and Medical Physicists.

Hybrid Interstitial Brachytherapy has proven superior outcomes over conventional Intracavitary Brachytherapy as it provides much conformal dose coverage and better OAR sparing. Dr Sushil Beriwal USA, a member of the American Society of Radiation Oncology and American Brachytherapy Society, Dr Suneetha Mulinti, senior consultant Radiation Oncologist, AOI and Dr Vinitha Reddy, Radiation Oncologist, AOI conducted a Live Case demo on Hybrid Interstitial Brachytherapy in Ca Cervix.

Commenting on the conference, Dr Sushil Beriwal said, "Brachytherapy is the most important and an integral part of Cervical Cancer treatment. The Intracavitary brachytherapy might not be enough for optimal coverage of the tumor in all the patients. This hybrid Intracavitary/interstitial applicator with MRI imaging can help increase the tumor coverage and dose while reducing dose to the normal tissues. The conference on the advanced form of brachytherapy will help us learn and improve quality of radiation care for cervical cancer.

Similarly, Dr Suneetha Mulinti said, "AOI has always been a front runner when it comes to imparting knowledge sharing session to the medical fraternity. Such regular workshops keep doctors abreast with the latest and path-breaking technology while ensuring a holistic precision cancer care approach for the patients' well-being. This hybrid Interstitial Brachytherapy procedure has created potential opportunities to do advanced MRI-based planning at the American Oncology Institute."

Along with the hands-on training, the workshop included sessions on Gynac Radiology for Radiation Oncolgists, ICRU-GEC-ESTRO recommendations: GTV, CTVs at diagnosis and at time of Brachytherapy for Ca Cervix, AARHUS applicator geometry and adaptation with standard Intracavitary Brachytherapy, Unexcepted issues and acute complications management during Brachytherapy, Selection of Brachytherapy applicators based on tumor size, Contouring guidelines for Organs at Risk and Tumor Volume, Physics of Brachytherapy - Dosimetry systems & advanced algorithms.

The other distinguished faculty of the workshop were Dr Harjot Kaur Bajwa, Dr Tasneem Rushdi, Dr Aruna Karnawat, Dr Manjinder Sidhu, Dr Rupak Das, Suresh Chaudhari, Dr Kathirvel M and Nastik Bhandari.