Laurie Gaspar, MD

Laurie Gaspar, MD, Professor and Chair Department of Radiation Oncology, Grohne Chair in Clinical Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses reducing neurotoxicity in small cell lung cancer patients.

Neurotoxicity is a phenomenon that occurs with prophylactic cranial radiation or whole brain radiation therapy for brain metastases

There are several methods of decreasing neurotoxicity, but using medication seems to be the most straightforward approach

Additional research is being done to focus on reducing or avoiding radiation to the hippocampus, which will help patients keep their memory

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Laurie Gaspar, MD, discusses reducing neurotoxicity in small cell lung cancer patients. 

Reducing Neurotoxicity in Lung Cancer

Laurie Gaspar, MD, Professor and Chair Department of Radiation Oncology, Grohne Chair in Clinical Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses the risk of pneumonitis from radiation among patients with lung cancer.

Some large cooperative group studies claim that the risk of symptomatic radiation pneumonitis is small -- less than 10%. On an actuarial basis, Gaspar says, about 30-40% of patients experience pneumonitis at 1 year.Gaspar says this larger figure needs to be discussed with patients and physicians need to work on lowering the percentage. Most oncologists also agree that some side effects from radiation are being underestimated, Gaspar says

Patients need to be more aware of the real risk of pneumonitis from radiation

The Risk of Pneumonitis From Radiation in Patients With Lung Cancer 

Laurie Gaspar, MD, Professor and Chair Department of Radiation Oncology, Grohne Chair in Clinical Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses the potential of heat shock protein (HSP) inhibitors as radiation sensitizers.

Currently, most of the research in this setting has been preclinical. Gaspar believes that this would be a promising area for HSP inhibitors, as they could be combined with a smaller dose of radiation, and consequently limit the side effects.

Gaspar says that the radiation-sensitizing potential of HSP inhibitors could exist in any cell, but may work best in radiation-resistant cells. This could be the right time to move this theory into the clinical setting for lung cancer.

There has been some preclinical research into using heat shock protein (HSP) inhibitors as a radiation sensitizer in lung cancer

HSP inhibitors as a radiation sensitizer could lessen the dose, and the side effects, of radiation therapy

Laurie Gaspar, MD, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses the potential of heat shock protein (HSP) inhibitors as radiation sensitizers.

Laurie Gaspar, MD | Authors

Articles

Reducing Neurotoxicity in Lung Cancer

The Risk of Pneumonitis From Radiation in Patients With Lung Cancer

The Potential of HSP Inhibitors as Radiation Sensitizers