American Society for Radiation Oncology seeks to simplify clinical guidelines

The American Society for Radiation Oncology is seeking to simplify clinical guidelines with a new collaboration. 

ASTRO recently inked a memorandum of understanding with its overseas counterpart, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, the two announced Monday. With the new collaboration, they’re committing to work together on developing new clinical practice guidelines relating to radiation oncology. 

Both societies officially announced the partnership as part of the ESTRO Annual Congress, taking place this week in Sweden. Going forward, the two said they’ll produce most future guidelines together, hoping to “increase the impact of evidence-based guidance for clinicians worldwide."

“Adherence to clinical guidelines has been associated with improved patient outcomes and overall survival across cancer types,” ESTRO President Matthias Guckenberger, MD, said in a statement. “By speaking with one voice, ASTRO and ESTRO are providing the global radiation oncology community with unified guidance that will improve the lives of the patients we serve.”

As part of the partnership, the two will create a joint committee with representatives from both societies. They’ll oversee topic selection and guideline development, with the memo of understanding also outlining other matters such as governance, guideline authorship and journal publication. 

“By aligning future guideline development and governance, our societies can make better use of our resources while providing consistent, evidence‑based recommendations for patients across regions,” added Neha Vapiwala, MD, president of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.