JRSBRT 2.3, p. 173-174

On the progress of the Journal of Radiosurgery and SBRT On the definition of Radiosurgery and SBRT
Samuel Ryu

The Journal of Radiosurgery and SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy), JRSBRT, was created as the official journal of International Society of Stereotactic- Society (ISRS). Our society has grown in membership and inclusion of diverse multidisciplinary specialties as the landscape of radiosurgery and SBRT has been rapidly changing with the contemporary understanding of the use of the focused radiation and finding new radiosurgical treatment indications. Therefore, the Journal intended to serve as a multi-disciplinary forum for global communication and international platform for establishing the highest level of radiosurgical practice. The Journal was designed to broadly cover physics and technical progress, biological investigation, and clinical experience including case reports. Since the inception of the Journal after the 11th Congress in 2011, we have published 71 papers in 7 issues. The topics are distributed as shown in the diagram. We thank all the contributors and reviewers for the Journal.

We can have more emphasis on the basic research of radiosurgical biology and physics, and education, as well as clinical investigation. The Journal is a publication intended to not only convey high level peer reviewed clinical and laboratory radiobiological and physical sciences, but to address the various relevant issues related to radiosurgery and SBRT - whether it be social, economic, educational and cultural - on six continents as they affect the management and treatment of radiosurgical diseases. The future of the journal looks bright. The quality of manuscripts will be better and the journal will be stronger. JRSBRT will remain innovative, and improve coverage of the entire landscape of radiosurgery/SBRT discipline.

On the Definition of Radiosurgery and SBRT

There has been confusion in defining the appropriate act of radiosurgery. It was in large part because the field of radiosurgery and SBRT has been evolving rapidly. In 2006, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) along with the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) jointly approved a definition of stereotatic radiosurgery for the head and spine. With the understanding that the radiosurgical treatment paradigm may need to be modified with the changing paradigm of radiosurgery practice, the Journal endorses and adopts the following redefined definition in 2013:

Stereotatic radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) is a distinct discipline that utilizes externally generated ionizing radiation in certain cases to inactivate or eradicate a defined target(s) in any body sites - not limited to the organs such as the brain, spine, lung, liver, etc - without the need to make an incision. The target is defined by high resolution stereotactic imaging. To assure quality of patient care the procedure involves a multi-disciplinary team consisting of specialty surgeon, radiation oncologist, and radiosurgery physicist. SRS or SBRT can be performed in a single session or in a limited number of sessions up to a maximum of five, using a rigidly attached stereotactic device, other immobilization technology and/or a stereotactic image-guidance system. Technologies that are used to perform SRS or SBRT include linear accelerators, particle beam accelerators, and multi-source Cobalt 60 units. In order to enhance precision, various devices may incorporate robotics and real time imaging. The procedure is performed with a robust quality assurance process to ensure accurating targeting and radiation delivery.

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