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Trial abstracts presented at ASTRO 2026

ASTRO's 68th Annual Meeting — the leading global conference in radiation oncology

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) 68th Annual Meeting — the leading global conference in radiation oncology — was held September 26-30 at Boston’s Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center. Below are some of the scientific presentations of trial outcomes that CCTG participated in.

CCTG BRC.8/S1827 MAVERICK - MRI Brain Surveillance Alone versus MRI Surveillance and Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI): A Randomized Phase III Trial in Small-Cell Lung Cancer (MAVERICK)

The MAVERICK (BRC.8) trial results were presented during the CT 01 - Clinical Trials Session - Abstract LBA 03, SWOG S1827/MAVERICK: A Randomized Phase III Trial of Brain MRI Surveillance with and without Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI) for Small-Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). 

Presenting author Dr Paul Brown said that the results demonstrated that brain MRI surveillance alone enhances cognitive failure-free survival and lowers severe adverse events versus MRI plus prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for small-cell lung cancer patients.

The trial randomized 304 patients who had completed initial therapy for limited- or extensive-stage SCLC and had no brain metastases on MRI to structured MRI surveillance alone or surveillance plus PCI (25 Gy in 10 fractions). MRI and cognitive testing were conducted every three months during year one and every six months during year two. The primary endpoint was cognitive failure-free survival (CFFS), defined as failure on any of three standardized tests or death. The results favor surveillance. At a median follow-up of 22 months among living patients, MRI surveillance reduced the hazard of cognitive failure or death (HR 0.60, 90% CI 0.46-0.78; p=0.001).

Authors: C. G. Rusthoven, M. Redman, PD. Brown, J.S. Wefel, J. Maio, M.H. Hsieh, J. Honce, J. Unger, N.L. Henry, A.A. Patel, D.Y. Gelblum, J. Greenland, D. Moghanaki, T. Biswas, L.R. Alder, N.S. McCall, J. Gray, K. Kelly 

Abstract:  https://amportal.astro.org/sessions/ct-01-22948/swog-s1827-maverick-a-randomized-phase-iii-trial-of-brain-mri-surveillance-with-and-without-p-114268

CCTG CEC.7/A071807 - Phase III Trial of Post-Surgical Single Fraction Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) Compared with Fractionated SRS (FSRS) for Resected Metastatic Brain Disease

The Plenary Session was presented by Dr Ayal Aizer. 

In patients with brain metastases, post-operative SRS delivered in 1 fraction is a standard of care but local control decreases with increasing target size. To improve tumor control, fractionated SRS (fSRS) is often favored for large surgical cavities. However, there is a lack of high-level data comparing the efficacy of fSRS versus SRS. The primary objective of Alliance A071801 was to ascertain if time to surgical bed failure is increased with fSRS compared to SRS in patients with resected brain metastasis.

Researchers found that after resection of larger brain metastasis, fSRS offers superior surgical bed control and should be considered a standard of care.

Authors: P. D. Brown, K. V. Ballman, A. A. Aizer, K. E. Dooley, T. J. C. Wang, J. D. Palmer, V. Gondi, A. Attia, J. Greenspoon, T. Kaufmann, J. L. Peterson, H. H. M. Yu, A. Butts, T. S. Armstrong, C. Chung, G. Rao, P. Brastianos, and E. Galanis 

Abstract:   https://amportal.astro.org/sessions/pl-01-22946/alliance-a071801-phase-iii-trial-postoperative-single-fraction-stereotactic-radiosurgery-srs-114060

CCTG MA.39 - Tailor RT: A Randomized Trial of Regional Radiotherapy in Biomarker Low Risk Node Positive and T3N0 Breast Cancer

A poster presentation on the Evaluation of RapidArc Dynamic for Regional Nodal Breast Irradiation

Radiation therapy to the whole breast or chest wall with regional nodal irradiation is standard of care for patients with node-positive breast cancer. Treatment planning is complex due to proximity of nodal target volumes to critical organs at risk (OARs), including the lungs, contralateral breast, and the heart, which can increase the risk of cardiopulmonary toxicity. RapidArc Dynamic (RAD) is a new treatment technique that integrates static IMRT beams (called Static Modulated Ports or STAMPs), a dynamic collimator, and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) into a single, hybrid delivery to leverage the strengths of both techniques. This study compares RAD with standard VMAT for regional nodal breast irradiation to evaluate dosimetric differences in target coverage and OAR sparing.

Authors:             O. Dawood, D. S. Mohan, M. D. Patel, J. Moreno, R. Khan, A. Mikaeilian, L. Johnson, J. Friedman, and M. G. Skinner

Abstract:https://amportal.astro.org/sessions/pqa-05-22824/evaluation-of-rapidarc-dynamic-for-regional-nodal-breast-irradiation-112714