“AANS and ASTRO, along with corporate supporter Brainlab, have begun a national prospective radiosurgical registry. The registry, managed by Neuropoint Alliance (NPA), underscores the commitment by AANS, ASTRO and Brainlab to enhancing quality care for our patients. It also provides new opportunities for achieving major advances in the management of patients with complex problems such as brain tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders, which is why the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) is also providing support,” commented Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, FAANS, Harrison Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia.
ASTRO Health Policy Council Chair and a radiation oncologist at the University of Colorado, Denver, Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, added, “ASTRO is excited to partner with AANS for this important project. Radiosurgery is one of the most important, high-value services we can provide to a wide-range of patients for an assortment of benign and malignant cancers. The registry will give us ’big data’ that we can use to refine our current technical and patient selection guidelines with the nuanced observations that can only be derived from large patient cohorts who are followed prospectively in a registry platform.”
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive approach utilizing imaging guidance and stereotactic principles to deliver radiation to targeted cells within the body, and it has become an important part of the neurosurgical resources for the treatment of brain metastases, benign brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations.
ASTRO is providing both financial and professional support for the registry. ASTRO and AANS will lead the Scientific Advisory Committee charged with providing strategic oversight for the registry, including but not limited to: identifying and approving contributing sites that will participate; developing the plan for data collection; managing the data collection issues; developing plans for data analysis and managing data analysis issues; review and analysis of statistical reports; development of policies and procedures for responding to requests for access to registry data; and for review & approval of the publication or public presentation of data, results or conclusions resulting from the project.
Analysis of the de-identified patient data will be scientifically published, and the fully de-identified data elements will subsequently be made available in the public domain. This transparency is important to the registry and will likely stimulate secondary publications beyond what is published by the Scientific Advisory Committee. Storage, analysis and scientific supervision of the data are managed independently from Brainlab to ensure impartiality of the data.
Major sponsorship for the project has been provided by Brainlab. Other med- and biotech companies are being sought for additional sponsorship to support the long-term efforts and expansion of the registry.
About AANSFounded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 8,500 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves. To learn more, visit www.aans.org
About ASTROASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics (www.redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website,www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non-profit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more, visit www.astro.org.
About NPAThe Neuropoint Alliance (NPA) was established in 2008 by the AANS to collect, analyze and report on nationwide clinical data from neurosurgical practices using online technologies. It is designed to meet the quality care and research needs of individual neurosurgeons and neurosurgical practices, national organizations, health care plans, biomedical industry and government agencies. To learn more, visit www.neuropoint.org
About NREFThe Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) is a not-for-profit 501 (C)(3) organization created in 1980 by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) to support research and education efforts that enhance and confirm the critical role neurosurgeons play in improving lives.
The NREF is dedicated to providing education to neurosurgeons at all stages of their careers, as well as funding research into new and existing neurosurgical treatments, in order to identify links between best practices and improved outcomes in patient care. Through voluntary public donations, corporate support, and donations from allied groups, the NREF supports endeavors that impact the lives of those suffering from epilepsy, stroke, brain tumors, spinal disorders, sports-related head injuries, lower back pain and Parkinson’s disease.To learn more, visit www.nref.org
About BrainlabBrainlab develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology, enabling access to advanced, less invasive patient treatments. Brainlab technology powers treatments in radiosurgery as well as numerous surgical fields including neurosurgery, orthopaedic, ENT, CMF, spine and trauma. Founded in Munich in 1989, Brainlab has over 5,000 systems installed in 95 countries.To learn more, visit www.brainlab.com
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