A New Webinar Series from Sheffield Hallam University and the Journal of Radiotherapy in

Practice

First webinar 26th October 18.30-19.30 GMT (London/Lisbon),

Invitation from the JRP Editorial Board and Radiotherapy and

Oncology CPD Anywhere: Join us in a new venture–a new webinar series, commencing on Monday 26 October

2015 at 18.30–19.30 GMT.

The Editorial Board are delighted to announce a new initiative for the Journal of Radiotherapy in

Practice (JRP)in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam CPD Anywhere. We are starting a new webinar

series giving selected authors of publications in the JRP the opportunity to participate in a webinar of

their work (facilitated by members of the Editorial Board) free of charge. Authors will be invited to give

a short presentation of their work followed by questions from the audience.

We are pleased to invite you to join in the first webinar to explore in detail, a paper on the subject of patients with head

and neck cancer. The first paper is titled:‘Exploration of risk factors for weight loss in head and

neck cancer patients’- authored by Patrick Dawson, Amy Taylor and Chris Bragg.

The webinar will be introduced by Professor Heidi Probst, followed by the authors who will undertake a 20 minute presentation of their paper. This will be followed by a 25 minute session for you to pose questions and open up a

debate on the subject.

In this first paper, featured in the webinar series, authors Dawson, Taylor and Bragg, present their research into the exploration of risk factors for weight loss in head and neck cancer patients. Head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy can experience a number of toxicities, including weight loss and malnutrition, which can impact upon the quality of treatment. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate weight loss and identify predictive factors for this patient group.40 patients treated with radiotherapy since 2012 at the study centre were selected for analysis. Data was collected from patient records. The association between potential risk factors and weight loss was investigated. The authors concluded that younger patients and those with nodal disease were most at risk of weight loss. Other studies have identified the same risk factors along with several other variables. The relative significance of each along with a number of other potential factors is yet to be fully understood. Further research is required to help identify patients most at risk of weight loss; and assess interventions aimed at preventing weight loss and malnutrition.

The paper is freely available to read on the JRP homepage (www.journals.cambridge.org/jrp).

To register your interest in the webinar, please email jrpwebinars@gmail.com. Joining instructions will be sent out in due course. Please also send any questions to be discussed in the webinar to the above address.

We very much look forward to your participation.