SMC Radiation Oncology

27/02/2026

🏆 Samsung Medical Center — #1 in Korea, #26 in the World!

We are proud to share that Samsung Medical Center has been ranked No. 1 in Korea and 26th globally in Newsweek's World's Best Hospitals 2026, rising four spots from last year and continuing a remarkable four-year upward climb (40th → 34th → 30th → 26th).

At the Department of Radiation Oncology, we are honored to contribute to this achievement. Among the milestones recognized in this year's ranking, we are especially proud of surpassing 2,000 cases of proton therapy for liver cancer — a reflection of our team's dedication to precision, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of better outcomes for our patients.

This recognition is built on a foundation of excellence across the hospital: a pioneering multidisciplinary critical care system, the introduction of Korea's first CAR-T cell therapy, cutting-edge digital healthcare infrastructure achieving HIMSS Stage 7 across all four certification areas, and a perfect score of 400 on the Digital Health Indicator (DHI).

As our President, Park Seungwoo, noted: "We will continue to drive medical innovation by transitioning into an advanced intelligent hospital."

We remain committed to that vision — pushing the boundaries of radiation oncology to deliver world-class cancer care, today and into the future.

Samsung Medical Center Tops Korean Hospitals in Global Rankings Sixteen domestic hospitals rank in Newsweeks Worlds Best Hospitals 2026 list

21/02/2026

Unlocking High Adherence in Patient-Reported Outcomes: Transforming Breast Cancer Care with Mobile Messaging 📱🏥

We are thrilled to share our latest research recently published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth.

Collecting longitudinal Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO) is critical for personalized oncology care, yet integrating it into routine workflow remains a global challenge. Our team evaluated an automated system that integrates ePROs directly into the Electronic Health Record (EHR) using South Korea’s most popular mobile messaging app, KakaoTalk.

📄 Study Title: Evaluating the Feasibility of an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Platform Integrating Electronic Health Records and a Mobile Messaging App in Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

💡 Key Findings from 1,488 Patients:
• Seamless Usability: By using a familiar messaging app without requiring separate logins or downloads, we achieved an impressive 89.9% Complete Response (CR) rate for the first survey encounter.
• Sustained Engagement: Adherence improved over time, reaching 98.3% by the second survey.
• The "Golden Hour" for Data: Response rates peaked (>93%) when questionnaires were sent more than 1 hour before the appointment or the afternoon prior.
• Demographic Insights: While younger patients showed slightly higher adherence, the system proved highly feasible across age groups, successfully capturing the patient voice during adjuvant radiotherapy.

This study demonstrates that leveraging familiar mobile platforms is a powerful strategy to bridge the gap between patients and clinicians, ensuring that toxicity profiles and quality of life data are captured accurately in real-time.

👏 Congratulations to the Authors: A special acknowledgment to the research team for this contribution to digital health and radiation oncology:
• First Author: Jong Yun Baek
• Corresponding Author: Haeyoung Kim

🔗 Read the full open-access paper here: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2026/1/e67514

15/02/2026

Advancing Precision in Thoracic Oncology: Breakthrough in Proton FLASH Radiotherapy Research

🔬 We are proud to share our latest research published in the British Journal of Radiology, led by our team in collaboration with Sumitomo Heavy Industries. Our study provides the first evidence of the localized protective effects of high-dose proton FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) in a preclinical lung model.

Key Highlights:
✅ Normal Tissue Sparing: At ablative dose levels (>60 Gy), proton FLASH-RT significantly reduced radiation-induced lung injury, including pneumonitis and fibrosis, compared to conventional dose rates.
✅ Reduced Toxicity: FLASH irradiation induced milder skin toxicity and facilitated faster recovery of damaged tissues.
✅ Molecular Benefits: The research revealed that FLASH-RT mitigates oxidative stress and systemic inflammatory responses (lower N/L ratios and pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-α).

This study underscores the potential of high-dose proton FLASH-RT as a promising modality for treating deep-seated tumors while minimizing treatment-related toxicity. We are grateful to Sumitomo Heavy Industries for their technological partnership, which continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in precision radiation therapy.

🎉 Congratulations to our lead authors Sung Eun Lee, PhD and our corresponding authors Prof. Youngyih Han and Prof. Changhoon Choi for this significant contribution to the field of radiation oncology.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1093/bjr/tqag015

06/02/2026

🔬 2026 January Research Highlights

We're excited to share two publications from our department this January!

📊 Paper 1: Blood Dose Estimates in Radiotherapy and Clinical Outcomes in HCC
Published in Journal of Radiation Research
https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rraf087

Our team investigated how blood radiation dose affects treatment outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Key findings:
✅ HEDOS (Hematological Dose) significantly correlated with severe radiation-induced lymphopenia
✅ Higher blood dose associated with worse local and distant recurrence-free survival
✅ Dynamic blood dose modeling may improve treatment planning and patient outcomes

This research advances our understanding of radiation's immunological impact and could guide dose optimization strategies.

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📊 Paper 2: 24 Gy Radiotherapy for Stage IE Gastric MALT Lymphoma
Published in Gastric Cancer
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-025-01708-5

A large-scale validation study (N=202) demonstrated that reduced-dose radiotherapy offers significant benefits:
✅ 24 Gy achieved equivalent disease control to conventional 30 Gy
✅ Significantly lower acute toxicity (39.2% vs 60.9%, p=0.003)
✅ Excellent 5-year outcomes: 99.4% freedom from treatment failure, 100% overall survival

This evidence supports 24 Gy as the optimal standard dose, improving patient quality of life without compromising efficacy.

Proud of our team's dedication to advancing precision radiation oncology and improving patient care through evidence-based research!

01/02/2026

Welcome and Farewell to Dr. Fernando Garcia Luque from Spain! 🇪🇸🇰🇷

We were delighted to host Dr. Fernando Garcia Luque, a talented resident from Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain, for a 4-week clinical observership at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center.

During his time with us, Dr. Garcia Luque immersed himself in comprehensive training covering proton therapy and multidisciplinary disease management. His program included:

• Clinical observations in our outpatient clinics
• Experience in radiotherapy treatment planning
• Participation in multidisciplinary conferences
• In-depth discussions with our attending physicians

Dr. Garcia Luque's enthusiasm, insightful questions, and dedication to learning made a lasting impression on our entire team. It was wonderful to see him connect with our residents and become part of our department family during his stay.

These international exchanges are invaluable opportunities for us to share knowledge, foster collaboration, and strengthen the global radiation oncology community.

We wish Dr. Garcia Luque continued success in his training and look forward to our ongoing collaboration between Samsung Medical Center and Hospital 12 de Octubre.

¡Hasta pronto, Fernando! We hope to see you again soon.

22/01/2026

We were pleased to welcome distinguished leadership from Varian to Samsung Medical Center's Department of Radiation Oncology today.

Dr. Deepak Khuntia, SVP of Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer, along with key members of Varian's regional leadership team, visited our department to explore opportunities for future collaboration.

This meaningful exchange focused on advancing radiation oncology care through innovation. We look forward to working together to enhance patient outcomes and push the boundaries of cancer treatment.

Thank you to the Varian team for your visit and commitment to transforming cancer care.

14/01/2026

[Thymic Epithelial Tumors | Immunotherapy | Clinical Trial]

We are thrilled to celebrate the publication of groundbreaking research in the prestigious Journal of Thoracic Oncology, featuring our distinguished faculty member Dr. Jae Myoung Noh (노재명) as co-first author!

This pioneering study represents an exceptional collaboration across multiple departments at Samsung Medical Center:

LEAD AUTHORS:
👨‍⚕️ Dr. Yeong Hak Bang (Division of Hematology-Oncology) - Co-first author
👨‍⚕️ Dr. Jae Myoung Noh (Department of Radiation Oncology) - Co-first author
👨‍⚕️ Dr. Seong Yong Park (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery) - Co-corresponding author
👨‍⚕️ Dr. Sehhoon Park (Division of Hematology-Oncology) - Co-corresponding author

This innovative phase 2 clinical trial investigated perioperative pembrolizumab (immunotherapy) combined with chemotherapy for locally advanced thymic epithelial tumors - the FIRST clinical trial to evaluate neoadjuvant immunotherapy in this rare cancer.

KEY FINDINGS:
✅ 70% of patients successfully underwent surgical resection
✅ 46% achieved major pathologic response among surgical patients
✅ 91% disease-free survival rate at 1 year for resected patients
✅ Promising long-term outcomes with median disease-free survival of 49.3 months

This research opens new possibilities for patients with these challenging tumors, particularly those with thymic carcinoma, offering hope for improved surgical outcomes and long-term survival.

PUBLICATION DETAILS:
"Perioperative Pembrolizumab for Locally Advanced Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Single-Arm, Phase 2 Trial"
Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2025 Dec;20(12):1829-1842. Epub 2025 Oct 19.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2025.08.011

13/01/2026

🎉 CELEBRATING OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM OF THE PROTON THERAPY CENTER

We're thrilled to look back on the successful 10th Anniversary Symposium of the Proton Therapy Center held on December 20, 2025, at Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center!

✨ EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

🔬 Cutting-Edge Science
From the history of proton therapy to the physics and biology of Proton FLASH, we explored a decade of innovation and looked toward the future of particle therapy.

🌏 Global Perspectives
Distinguished speakers from Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Korea shared current trends and recent progress in particle therapy worldwide.

🏥 Clinical Excellence
Our experts presented breakthrough experiences in treating head and neck cancer, pediatric cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer with proton therapy.

💡 Next-Generation Innovations
Special lectures celebrated our 10th anniversary with discussions on FLASH-CAR radioimmunotherapy and CAR T-cell based immunotherapy combined with radiation therapy.

🙏 THANK YOU
A heartfelt thank you to all our speakers, participants, and the entire team at Samsung Medical Center for making this milestone event memorable.

As we enter 2026, we remain committed to advancing proton therapy and improving patient outcomes through innovation, research, and collaboration.

19/12/2025

New article in Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network: Refining Patient Selection for Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation in Limited-Stage SCLC A Multicenter Cohort Study
by Jae Myoung Noh, Hongryull Pyo, Tae Hoon Lee, Kyungmi Yang

Background: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in the contemporary management of limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) and to identify optimal strategies for patient selection. Patients and Methods: This multi-institutional cohort study included pati...

19/12/2025

New article in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine: Feasibility Study of a Novel Stent-Based Low-Level Laser Therapy Device for Reducing Severe Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis
by Dongryul Oh, Kyungmi Yang, Tae Hoon Lee, Jong Yun Baek

Objectives Radiation-induced oral mucositis (RIOM) is a severe complication of radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancers, impairing quality of life and treatment adherence. Low-level laser therapy...

17/12/2025

New article in Journal of Gynecologic Oncology: Significance of HPV status on tumor response and treatment outcomes in endocervical adenocarcinoma treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy : a retrospective study by Won Park, Won Kyung Cho, Jong Yun Baek

Baek JY, et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2025 Mar;36(6):e92. https://doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2025.36.e92

17/12/2025

New article in Journal of Gynecologic Oncology: Postoperative conventional versus hypofractionated intensity-modulated
radiation therapy with concurrent chemotherapy in cervical cancer: a prospective multicenter randomized phase III trial (POHIM_P3 trial) by Won Park, Won Kyung Cho

Cho WK, et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2025 Jul;37:e4. https://doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2026.37.e4