First author research productivity of United States radiation oncology residents: 2002-2007.

PURPOSE: Participation in investigative research is a required element of radiation oncology residency in the United States. Our purpose was to quantify the first author research productivity of recent U.S. radiation oncology residents during their residency training. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We performed a computer-based search of PubMed and a manual review of the proceedings of the annual meetings of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology to identify all publications and presented abstracts with a radiation oncology resident as the first author between 2002 and 2007. RESULTS: Of 1,098 residents trained at 81 programs, 50% published > or =1 article (range, 0-9), and 53% presented > or =1 abstract (range, 0-3) at an American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting. The national average was 1.01 articles published and 1.09 abstracts presented per resident during 4 years of training. Of 678 articles published, 82% represented original research and 18% were review articles. Residents contributed 15% of all abstracts at American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meetings, and the resident contribution to orally presented abstracts increased from 12% to 21% during the study period. Individuals training at programs with >6 residents produced roughly twice as many articles and abstracts. Holman Research Pathway residents produced double the national average of articles and abstracts. CONCLUSION: Although variability exists among individuals and among training programs, U.S. radiation oncology residents routinely participate in investigative research suitable for publication or presentation at a scientific meeting. These data provide national research benchmarks that can assist current and future radiation oncology residents and training programs in their self-assessment and research planning.

Relative risk of stroke in head and neck carcinoma patients treated with external cervical irradiation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of cerebrovascular events (stroke) in patients irradiated to high doses for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of 413 patients treated from 1987 to 2000 with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck was performed to determine the risk of stroke compared with the expected rate. METHODS: Surgical, radiotherapeutic, radiological, and clinical or office records of 413 patients were analyzed, and data were collected regarding clinical risk factors for stroke, irradiation parameters, and follow-up on whether or not a stroke event occurred. The actuarial risk of stroke for this population was calculated and compared with expected risk from population-based data. RESULTS: Of the 413 patients, 20 had strokes in follow-up, occurring between 2 and 146 months after radiotherapy. The 5-year actuarial rate of stroke was 12%, which corresponded to a relative risk of 2.09 ( P=.0007) compared with the population-based "expected" data. Median radiation therapy dose was 64 Gy; there was no correlation between radiation therapy dose and stroke risk. No correlation was identified between surgery near the carotids and stroke risk. CONCLUSIONS: An association between high-dose cervical irradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and stroke is demonstrated. Although the relative risk is approximately doubled, the absolute risk is modest in comparison to the risk of cancer recurrence. Further study of this association and possible interventions is warranted.