7. Changing the global radiation therapy paradigm

Pistenmaa DA, Dosanjh M, Amaldi U, Jaffray D, Zubizarreta E, Holt K, Lievens Y, Pipman Y, Coleman CN; Workshop Participants. Changing the global radiation therapy paradigm. Radiother Oncol. 2018 Sep;128(3):393-399. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2018.05.025. Epub 2018 Jun 18. PMID: 29921460.

6. Enhancing Career Paths for Tomorrow’s Radiation Oncologists

Vapiwala N, Thomas CR Jr, Grover S, Yap ML, Mitin T, Shulman LN, Gospodarowicz MK, Longo J, Petereit DG, Ennis RD, Hayman JA, Rodin D, Buchsbaum JC, Vikram B, Abdel-Wahab M, Epstein AH, Okunieff P, Goldwein J, Kupelian P, Weidhaas JB, Tucker MA, Boice JD Jr, Fuller CD, Thompson RF, Trister AD, Formenti SC, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Jones J, Dharmarajan KV, Zietman AL, Coleman CN. Enhancing Career Paths for Tomorrow’s Radiation Oncologists. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019 Sep 1;105(1):52-63. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.05.025. Epub 2019 May 22. PMID: 31128144; PMCID: PMC7084166.

Achieving flexible competence: bridging the investment dichotomy between infectious diseases and cancer

Coleman CN, Mansoura MK, Marinissen MJ, Grover S, Dosanjh M, Brereton HD, Roth L, Wendling E, Pistenmaa DA, O’Brien DM. Achieving flexible competence: bridging the investment dichotomy between infectious diseases and cancer. BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Dec;5(12):e003252. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003252. PMID: 33303514; PMCID: PMC7733114.

4. Capturing Acquired Wisdom, Enabling Healthful Aging, and Building Multinational Partnerships Through Senior Global Health Mentorship

Coleman CN, Wong JE, Wendling E, Gospodarowicz M, O’Brien D, Ige TA, Aruah SC, Pistenmaa DA, Amaldi U, Balogun OO, Brereton HD, Formenti S, Schroeder K, Chao N, Grover S, Hahn SM, Metz J, Roth L, Dosanjh M. Capturing Acquired Wisdom, Enabling Healthful Aging, and Building Multinational Partnerships Through Senior Global Health Mentorship. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2020 Dec 23;8(4):626-637. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00108. PMID: 33361231; PMCID: PMC7784062.

2. Global Health in Radiation Oncology: The Emergence of a New Career Pathway

Rodin D, Yap ML, Grover S, Longo JM, Balogun O, Turner S, Eriksen JG, Coleman CN, Giuliani M. Global Health in Radiation Oncology: The Emergence of a New Career Pathway. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2017 Apr;27(2):118-123. doi: 10.1016/j.semradonc.2016.11.003. Epub 2016 Nov 9. PMID: 28325237.

1. A Broad Impact for Global Oncology

Coleman CN, Wendling EN, Pistenmaa DA. A Broad Impact for Global Oncology. JAMA Oncol. 2019 Oct 1;5(10):1397-1398. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.2387. PMID: 31393528.

Surveying the Challenges to Improve Linear Accelerator-based Radiation Therapy in Africa: a Unique Collaborative Platform of All 28 African Countries Offering Such Treatment

Radiation therapy is a critical component for curative and palliative treatment of cancer and is used in more than half of all patients with cancer. Yet there is a global shortage of access to this treatment, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where there is a shortage of technical staff as well as equipment. Linear accelerators (LINACs) offer state-of-the-art treatment, but this technology is expensive to acquire, operate, and service, especially for low- and middle-income countries(LMICs), and often their harsh environment negatively affects the performance of LINACs, causing downtime.

A global initiative was launched in 2016 by ICEC and CERN to address the technology and system barriers to providing radiation therapy in LMICs through the development of a novel LINAC-based radiation therapy system designed for their challenging environments. As the LINAC prototype design phase progressed, it was recognized that additional information was needed from LMICs on the performance of LINAC components, on variables that may influence machine performance and their association, if any, with equipment downtime. Thus, a survey was developed to collect these data from all countries in Africa that have LINAC-based radiation therapy facilities. In order to understand the extent to which these performance factors are the same or different in high-income countries, facilities in Canada, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA were invited to participate in the survey, as was Jordan, a middle-income country. Throughout this process, LMIC representatives have provided input on technology challenges in their respective countries. Read more…

Research-Driven Radiation Oncology: A Narrative on the Ongoing Legacy of Henry S. Kaplan

In this rapidly evolving time of precision medicine and scientifically based cancer care, how radiation oncology became a strong research-based scientific discipline in the United States after its separation from diagnostic radiology might be lost. The importance of generational mentorship, “family trees,” and interpersonal relationships can be difficult or impossible to trace absent personal narrative recollections of those involved. Henry S. Kaplan is a central figure and the focal point for 3 generations of research-based academic department chairs. This report establishes a first draft of a living record of the radiation oncology history of the Kaplan legacy to serve as an example of how knowledge networks grow and flourish and as an impetus for others to trace the legacy of other radiation oncology academic “trees.” Read the full article…
Published by Elsevier Inc.

 

Achieving flexible competence: bridging the investment dichotomy between infectious diseases and cancer

Today’s global health challenges in underserved communities include the growing burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs); infectious diseases (IDs) with epidemic and pandemic potential such as COVID-19; and health effects from catastrophic ‘all hazards’ disasters including natural, industrial or terrorist incidents. Healthcare disparities in low-income and middle-income countries and in some rural areas in developed countries make it a challenge to mitigate these health, socioeconomic and political consequences on our globalised society. As with IDs, cancer requires rapid intervention and its effective medical management and prevention encompasses the other major NCDs. Furthermore, the technology and clinical capability for cancer care enables management of NCDs and IDs. Global health initiatives that call for action to address IDs and cancer often focus on each problem separately, or consider cancer care only a downstream investment to primary care, missing opportunities to leverage investments that could support broader capacity-building. From our experience in health disparities, disaster preparedness, government policy and healthcare systems we have initiated an approach we call flex-competence which emphasises a systems approach from the outset of program building that integrates investment among IDs, cancer, NCDs and disaster preparedness to improve overall healthcare for the local community. This approach builds on trusted partnerships, multi-level strategies and a healthcare infrastructure providing surge capacities to more rapidly respond to and manage a wide range of changing public health threats. Read the article…

 

Article: Coleman CN, Mansoura MK, Marinissen MJ, et al. Achieving flexible competence: bridging the investment dichotomy between infectious diseases and cancer. BMJ Global Health 2020;5:e003252. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2020-003252