SMC Radiation Oncology

12/04/2026

We are proud to share two publications from our team this March:

🔬 Study 1 | Annals of Surgical Oncology

"Initial and Repeat Metastasis-Directed Therapy in Systemic Therapy–Naïve Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Oncologic Outcomes and Risk-Based Stratification"

In collaboration with our colleagues in the Department of Urology, this study analyzed 133 patients with oligometastatic RCC managed with metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) — including metastasectomy, SBRT, and RFA — without upfront systemic therapy.

Key findings:
✅ 5-year systemic therapy–free survival: 44.9% — nearly half of patients avoided systemic therapy for 5 years
✅ Repeat MDT achieved comparable progression-free survival to initial MDT (2-yr PFS: 47.9% vs. 39.9%, p=0.996)
✅ A simple 2-factor risk score (DFI 2%, EBRT was associated with 100% 5-year PFS — even after gross total resection
✅ All treatment failures in the GKS group were local, underscoring the importance of adequate target volume coverage

These results support a tailored, Ki-67–guided approach to postoperative management in CN, with EBRT offering superior tumor control, particularly for larger or higher-proliferative tumors.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-026-05496-5

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Congratulations to all co-authors and collaborating teams! We remain committed to advancing evidence-based, individualized radiotherapy strategies for our patients.

09/04/2026

Our Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center has become the FIRST institution in Korea to earn ICHOM Level 1 certification for breast cancer care — international recognition that our patient-reported outcome (PRO) activities meet global standards.

This resonates deeply with our Department of Radiation Oncology. We don't just treat breast cancer — we actively listen to our patients throughout the process. Our team has already embedded electronic PRO collection into daily clinical practice: breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy complete quality-of-life questionnaires via mobile messaging app, with responses flowing directly into our EHR before every visit.

PROs are not an add-on. They are part of how we deliver care. 🏆

[by Choi, Sung Hoon] Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC) announced on April 7 that it has achieved Level 1 certification in breast cancer from the Inter

31/03/2026

Last Thursday, our department held the 2025 Annual Reporting Session of our Patient Safety Committee.

The heart of this initiative is simple but powerful: don't wait for something to go wrong. Our team actively identifies potential safety risks before they reach patients — reporting proactively, thinking critically, and implementing preventive measures together.

It's a reminder that patient safety isn't just a protocol. It's a culture we build, one conversation at a time.

Proud to be part of a team that puts patients first — always. 🏥

21/03/2026

📚 February Publications Recap Part 2

Wrapping up our February publication highlights — here are two more studies from our team! 🎉

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📌 Study 1 — Endore**al balloon use and re**al bleeding risk after hypofractionated IMRT for prostate cancer
BJU International

Does using an endore**al balloon (ERB) during hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy actually protect the re**um — or does it increase risk? In this study of 230 prostate cancer patients treated between 2018 and 2020, the 5-year cumulative incidence of grade ≥2 re**al bleeding was notably higher in the ERB group compared to the non-ERB group (27.7% vs. 9.0%, p

14/03/2026

📚 February Publications Recap Part 1

Our department had a productive February, with a total of 8 publications across a range of clinical and physics research! Two of them were highlighted individually in dedicated posts earlier — for the remaining six, here's the first of two recap posts covering three studies. 🎉

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📌 Study 1 — SABR combined with systemic therapy for metastatic HCC
Cancer Research and Treatment

How safe is it to combine stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) versus tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with extrahepatic metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma? This single-center retrospective study of 103 patients found that both combinations were generally well tolerated, with rare grade 3 late adverse events — though grade ≥2 late adverse events were more frequent in the SABR+ICI group, underscoring the importance of prospective evaluation.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2025.966

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📌 Study 2 — Optimizing treatment time in respiratory-gated proton therapy for liver cancer
Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics

Respiratory gating improves targeting accuracy in proton therapy, but comes at the cost of longer treatment sessions. This physics study proposes dynamic range optimization — constraining the minimum MU per spot — as a planning-based strategy to reduce treatment time. Validated using RayStation v2025 in 101 HCC patients treated with line-scanning proton therapy, the study carefully characterizes the resulting dosimetric trade-offs as well.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1002/acm2.70510

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📌 Study 3 — Hypofractionated preoperative radiotherapy in retroperitoneal sarcoma
Practical Radiation Oncology

The role of preoperative radiotherapy in retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) remains debated, and hypofractionated regimens are gaining interest as a more convenient alternative to conventional fractionation. In this retrospective study of 55 RPS patients, our team compared HypoRT (50/35 Gy in 10 fractions) with ConvRT (62.5/45 Gy in 25 fractions). HypoRT did not increase grade ≥3 surgical complications or prolonged hospitalization, and 3-year local recurrence-free, progression-free, and overall survival were comparable between the two groups — suggesting HypoRT may be a feasible and practical alternative for patients with resectable RPS.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prro.2026.02.008

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From liver cancer to sarcoma, and from clinical outcomes to treatment planning physics — our team continues to advance the full spectrum of radiation oncology. 💪

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our February recap!

05/03/2026

We are thrilled to share our latest clinical research on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Samsung Medical Center, recently published in the European Journal of Cancer.

Our new paper, "Tailored proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: Addressing unmet needs through a multidisciplinary approach," provides a comprehensive look at the efficacy of proton beam therapy (PBT) as an alternative local ablative modality.

PBT utilizes the "Bragg peak" effect to enable precise tumor irradiation while reducing exposure to the normal liver, thereby mitigating toxicity risks.

📊 Key Highlights from the Study:
• We evaluated 2,000 HCC cases involving 1,823 patients treated at our PBT center since December 2015.
• The study focused on patients who were ineligible for standard treatments recommended by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) guidelines.
• The 2-year freedom from local progression (FFLP) remarkably exceeded 90% across the treatment periods.
• The 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were highly encouraging: 81.1% for BCLC stage 0, 65.5% for stage A, 45.5% for stage B, and 37.2% for stage C.
• Overall, PBT provided favorable local control and survival outcomes with an acceptable toxicity profile.

This extensive single-center study reinforces the promising role of PBT in addressing unmet therapeutic needs for HCC patients within a structured multidisciplinary framework.

A massive congratulations to our dedicated research team, with special recognition to our lead author Dr. Jeong Ha Lee, and our corresponding authors Dr. Jeong Il Yu and Dr. Hee Chul Park.

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2026.116593

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.