First on September 1 , 2009 as 10 . 1158 / 1078 - 0432 . CCR - 09 - 0357

Strategic planning for the Radiation Therapy Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) is comprehensively evaluated every six years in an effort to maintain a current and relevant scientific focus, and to provide a standard platform for future development of protocol concepts. Participants in the 2008 Strategic Planning Workshop included clinical trial experts from multiple specialties, industry representatives from both pharmaceuticals and equipment manufacturers, and basic scientists. Highpriority research areas such as image-guided radiation therapy for control of limited metastatic disease, analysis of biomarkers for treatment response and late toxicity, assessment of novel agents in combination with radiation, standardization of radiation target delineation, and the assessment of new imaging techniques to individualize cancer therapy, were discussed. Research priorities included clinical study designs featuring translational end points that identify patients most likely to benefit from combined modality therapy; intervention including combination radiation with standard chemotherapy; radiation with radiosensitizing molecular-targeted therapies; and stereotactic radiation for treatment of patients with regard to asymptomatic metastasis and radiation-induced tumor autoimmunity. The Committee concluded that the future research opportunities are among the most exciting to have developed in the last decade, and work is in progress to embark on these plans. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(18):OF1–8) Strategic planning for the Radiation Therapy Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) is comprehensively evaluated every six years in an effort to maintain a current and relevant scientific focus (1). The scientific strategy developed by the Committee provides a standard platform for future protocol concepts developed by its members. The Committee prioritizes the scientific strategy in accordance with subjects relevant to a medical oncology cooperative group. To be successful, these concepts must have a forward vision with treatment strategies and/or translational technology that does not preclude widespread national participation. Also, they must not be overly specific to a particular primary tumor site or histology and must encompass contemporary clinical trial design. Finally, the prioritized concepts must be exciting enough to compete against the many protocols being evaluated by the individual SWOG disease site committees. A goal of cancer treatment is to improve tumor control while minimizing normal tissue toxicity. Over the past six years, advances in image-guided radiation treatment (IGRT) have exceeded most expectations, and the wide availability of these technologies has opened powerful research opportunities. For example, IGRT may be used to reduce radiation-related toxicity through improved targeting of the tumor and exclusion of Authors' Affiliations: University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas; University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; BrainLab, Munich, Germany; Varian Medical Systems Inc., Palo Alto, California; University of California Irvine, Orange, California; Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, Michigan; Olathe Medical Center, Olathe, Kansas; Genzyme Corporation, Framingham, Massachusetts; Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland Oregon; National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York Received 2/11/09; revised 4/30/09; accepted 7/12/09; published OnlineFirst