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Registration for the UPMC Rad Onc Symposium is OPEN! Register NOW to reserve your spot and take advantage of our early-bird discount!
bit.ly/3SitHAd
@HSkinnerMDPhD @RadOncResidency @UPMCHillmanCC @ASTRO_org @ACRORadOnc @ArsRocket @AmerBrachy
Please join us for this great event of fun and learning with friends! We will focus on important topics of CNS SRS/SBRT, LDRT, RPT, and GU/Gyn brachy! Sign up now! @UPMCPhysicianEd @RadOncResidency @UPMCHillmanCC @ASTRO_org @ACRORadOnc #RadOnc
Join us October 23 in Pittsburgh for Developing New Services in Radiation Medicine. Clinical evidence, case studies, and implementation breakouts. Full program in person; virtual morning only.
@UPMCHillmanCC
cce.upmc.com/developing-new-…
Parul Barry retweeted
Upcoming @NRGonc Podcast w @UTMDAnderson @UChicagoRadonc @Docace911 & @lauren_henke on final publication of BR002 in @ASCO @JCO_ASCO. @reshmajagsi @TBJulianMD @A_THOMASMD @LiorBraunstein @pnbarry
On our first day of #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth we call to a special upcoming podcast episode on the results of NRG-BR002 being published in JCO. We dissect the results with Dr. Chmura after they are published. Check out past episodes & follow us for more: NRGOncology.org/Podcast
Excited to speak on applications for RT for breast cancer for stages 0 to IV disease, including #RPT and #LDRT for those on AI. @SIS_Breast @UPMCPhysicianEd @UPMCHillmanCC @HSkinnerMDPhD #OctobreRose
Excited to represent @UPMCHillmanCC along with Breast Surgery leader Dr. Soran @SIS_Breast in Strasbourg, France @Europarl_EN! @UPMCPhysicianEd @HSkinnerMDPhD
Parul Barry retweeted
At #ASTRO2026, I spoke with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center (@UPMCHillmanCC) and University of Pittsburgh Department of Radiation Oncology resident Reeny Thomas about research on baseline pain and supportive care, and the mentorship behind the project. Meet one of the amazing people training and doing research in our department. #RadOnc
CONGRATULATIONS!
Celebrate Yvonne Mowery's 2026 Innovation Award from Speed of Light - The ASTRO Foundation at today's #ASTRO26 Awards Ceremony!
10 AM ET | Grand Ballroom
Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston
amportal.astro.org/sessions/…

ALT Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, recipient of a 2026 Innovation Award from Speed of Light, The ASTRO Foundation. Research on treatment sequencing in head and neck cancer with co-PI Lazar Vujanovic, PhD. Header displays UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, and Department of Radiation Oncology.
Parul Barry retweeted
Abigail Zappa | Oral Presentation 142
Surveying the Valley of Death: How Wide is the Gap between Basic Science and Clinical Application in Radiation/Immunotherapy Research?
Sun, Sep 27, 5:40–5:50 PM ET
Room 109
#ASTRO26
Parul Barry retweeted
Coming up shortly #ASTRO26 Dr. Parul Barry (@pnbarry) co-moderates a session exploring ways to increase access in RO covering navigation, radiopharmaceuticals & overall expansion of complex cases. @HSkinnerMDPhD @UPMCnews @PittHealthSci @RadOncResidency
It was an honor to help moderate this important talk on radiation medicine healthcare access with @DrGOdaDO @ChristinaChapMD! @TheDrWood @RadOncResidency @UPMCHillmanCC @HSkinnerMDPhD
Join @BhanuPr92961213 for this important talk TOMORROW! @HSkinnerMDPhD @UPMCHillmanCC @UPMCPhysicianEd @RadOncResidency
Parul Barry retweeted
EARLY BIRD DEADLINE ENDS TODAY! Register now!
bit.ly/3SitHAd
@HSkinnerMDPhD @YvonneMowery @freddyeescorcia @RPatelMDPHD @BhanuPr92961213 @SerahChoiMDPhD @Haleyml1987 @UzomaMDPhD @UPMCPhysicianEd @UPMCHillmanCC @RadOncResidency #RadOnc
EARLY BIRD DEADLINE ENDS TODAY! Register now!
bit.ly/3SitHAd
@HSkinnerMDPhD @YvonneMowery @freddyeescorcia @RPatelMDPHD @BhanuPr92961213 @SerahChoiMDPhD @Haleyml1987 @UzomaMDPhD @UPMCPhysicianEd @UPMCHillmanCC @RadOncResidency #RadOnc
We are so lucky to have the talented Dr. @YvonneMowery! @HSkinnerMDPhD @free_radical28 @RadOncResidency @UPMCHillmanCC
And congratulations to Duke #RadOnc alumna @YvonneMowery, MD, PhD, on her Innovation Award! @pitt_medicine
Parul Barry retweeted
1/n This is some brilliant investigatory work by @drbeckta. Nothing to add to his substantive critique of the underlying evidence itself or the incorporation of flawed data into guidelines by benefit managers like EviCore. But how best to remedy? Brief 🧵#radonc #medtwitter
Let's keep adding context, but from a different angle:
EviCore was formally created in 2014/2015 through a merger of MedSolutions and CareCore National.
The oldest EviCore radiotherapy guidelines I personally have archived is from 2019. I believe this was close to, if not THE first...but they make this difficult to find (for obvious and shady reasons).
But we can say with certainty that EviCore themselves deemed LDRT for osteoarthritis "medically necessary" at least as far back as 2019.
So what changed?
Well, though LDRT started its journey of rediscovery in America in 2020/2021, it was still relatively unknown to the public and uncommonly performed in American clinics.
Because LDRT, you know, actually works - more and more of us started to offer it, and patients have the ability to like...talk to each other.
In my own practice, for example, I have never once advertised. All of my LDRT patients are word of mouth self-referrals, or referrals from local doctors after they saw me treat their other patients.
Naturally, as this happened across the country, the public took notice.
In 2025, the radiotherapy professional society ASTRO made benign disease/LDRT the theme of their yearly conference.
As you can see from the Google Trends data, Americans searching for "low dose radiation therapy" really took off in early 2025 - and kept going.
Recently, this culminated in an article appearing on NBC's "Today" website, authored by @LaVarsovienne.
It was a classic, feel-good story of LDRT literally making a person, well...feel good.
This article was published on June 16th, 2026, at 1:08PM.
As seen in the Google Trends data, June 2026 is currently the absolute pinnacle of public interest in LDRT.
Which makes sense. "Today" is a massive, international platform. A lot of people saw it.
Almost certainly the people at EviCore saw it.
Which is why the PDF metadata of EviCore's latest guidelines - the one where they abruptly reverse course on LDRT - is extremely interesting.
What are the chances that this PDF was created on June 17th, 2026, at 11:13AM?
As in: 22 hours after one of the biggest platforms in the world runs a story on the benefits of LDRT, the largest benefits manager in the country creates the PDF of their newest guidelines, reversing course on covering this exact treatment, after explicitly covering it for nearly a decade?
Based on a fraudulent AI slop meta-analysis paper?
Really?
I mean sure, it COULD be a coincidence.
Or it could be that EviCore had already drafted most (all?) of this new version, saw this "Today" article drop on a Tuesday, internally said "nope, shut it down", and within 24 hours created this nonsensical non-coverage.
That's quite a coincidence for a company known to utilize their own AI platforms to make immediate, slash-and-burn decisions.
Within that context, it could be considered a consistent pattern of behavior.
Has anyone re-read that @statnews investigation into EviCore lately? The one from last year?
It's certainly compelling!
Back by popular demand! Early bird deadline extended until 8/15! Sign up and join us!
Parul Barry retweeted
I’ve treated over 1,000 patients with low-dose radiation for benign musculoskeletal conditions. Effective this November, EviCore will classify the treatment as not medically necessary for nearly all of them.
Some context on how EviCore got here.
In 2019, EviCore’s own published criteria stated: “Policy: Radiation therapy is medically necessary” for plantar fasciitis and osteoarthritis, citing response rates near 80% with durability at 48 weeks. That position held through early 2026. The new guideline describes the same literature as a “paucity of evidence.” No reconciliation of the two positions has been published.
The cited sources don’t support the reversal either. The DEGRO guideline EviCore references recommends LDRT for refractory Kellgren 2–3 knee OA and grades plantar fasciitis radiotherapy at evidence level 1b, recommendation A. The 2024 VA evidence review found uncertainty on specific outcomes, not nonnecessity, and its literature search ended April 2023. The review is currently being updated as you are reading this.
Since that cutoff: a randomized, multicenter, sham-controlled trial presented at ASTRO 2025 showed 70% response with 3 Gy versus 42% with sham (p=0.014) in knee OA — the study design the earlier skepticism specifically called for. And the American Radium Society published multispecialty Appropriate Use Criteria, developed with rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons, defining when LDRT is and isn’t appropriate.
I’ve applied strict evidence standards in my own AUC work, including voting against favorable ratings when randomized controlled data was lacking. This isn’t a plea for blanket coverage. It’s a request for basic consistency: an evidence review should account for the strongest available trial, accurately represent its cited sources, and explain what changed.
The patients affected are refractory with failed conservative care, often not surgical candidates. Categorical noncoverage removes even individualized review for the exact population every cited guideline identifies as appropriate.
Comment and appeal pathways are open through the November effective date. Our societies are engaged. If you treat these patients, now is the time to document and submit.
Parul Barry retweeted
In concert w @BladderCancerUS Think Tank 2026, @NRGonc Podcast on saving the bladder in GU015 (Archer) w @MSKCancerCenter @HimanshuNagarMD & @MBPExcellence @UroCancer! @lauren_henke @DrSpratticus @DrPaulNguyen @wandering_gu @DrRanaMcKay @drjefstathiou @NehaVapiwala
New on the NRG Oncology Podcast: Study PIs @UroCancer & @HimanshuNagarMD discuss the ARCHER trial, including the study's design, eligibility, & the research questions behind shorter-course adaptive radiation for muscle-invasive #BladderCancer. Listen now! NRGOncology.org






























