Innovative Techniques in Radiation Oncology with Dr. Josh Yamada

In 2016, 1.6 million new cancer diagnoses were made, 40% of which metastasized to the spine.¹ At the 2018 International Conference of the Novalis Circle, we spoke to Josh Yamada, MD, from New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to get his perspective on the use and growth of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the treatment of spinal tumors.

Dr. Yamada explained that, over the last five to ten years, SRS has become “an important and integral part of most practices,” and he lists many factors that have contributed to this shift, including the marriage of image guided technology with highly conformal radiation treatment planning.

He also discussed how utilizing a patient motion management system during treatment can be reassuring, not only to the clinician but also to the patient. Such systems allow clinicians to monitor any patient movement during treatment and to better target the necessary location.

Learn more by viewing the full video!

¹https://academic.oup.com/neurosurgery/article/64/CN_suppl_1/59/4093183