Treatment of Early FL More Effective With PET-Staging and Contemporary RT

Andrea Blevins Primeau, PhD, MBA

The results of this study suggest that upfront, early-stage follicular lymphoma (FL) treatment with RT is safe and results in excellent outcomes. Importantly, these results are of “more than 500 patients, all of whom have been treated in a contemporary fashion with PET staging,” Dr Hoppe said, highlighting that it is typically challenging to evaluate a large number of patients because FL is so uncommon. 

Dr Hoppe recommends that oncologists and hematologists with a patient diagnosed with FL who has been PET-staged with stage I or stage II disease seek the opinion of a radiation oncologist. “That doesn’t commit the patient to being treated by a radiation oncologist, but you can properly inform the patient [of] the potential risks and benefits of treatment.” He further highlighted that “this gives the patient the best opportunity to participate in making an informed decision as to what the treatment should be.”

The relationship between radiation doses to coronary arteries and location of coronary stenosis requiring intervention in breast cancer survivors

Anna-Karin Wennstig, Hans Garmo, Ulf Isacsson, Giovanna Gagliardi, Niina Rintelä, Bo Lagerqvist, Lars Holmberg, Carl Blomqvist, Malin Sund and Greger Nilsson

Radiation Oncology201914:40

This study assessed the relationship between radiation doses to the coronary arteries (CAs) and location of a coronary stenosis that required intervention after three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) for breast cancer (BC).

In women receiving conventional 3D Conformal RadioTherapy for Breast Cancer between 1992 and 2012, radiation doses to the Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD) remained high and were associated with an increased requirement of coronary intervention in mid LAD. The results support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning and that the dose should be kept as low as possible.

Reducing the dose to LAD, and implementation of heart-sparing RT techniques is of importance, since minimising the dose to LAD is expected to diminish the risk of later radiation-induced stenosis.

https://ro-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13014-019-1242-z

Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Recurrent Lung Cancer Reirradiated with Proton Therapy on the Proton Collaborative Group and University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute Prospective Registry Studies

Badiyan, Shahed N. et al. Practical Radiation Oncology

This is the largest series to date of Proton Beam Therapy reirradiation for recurrent lung cancer, showing that reirradiation with Proton Beam Therapy is well tolerated with acceptable toxicity and encouraging efficacy.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879850019300566

A Road Map for Important Centers of Growth in the Pediatric Skeleton to Consider During Radiation Therapy and Associated Clinical Correlates of Radiation-Induced Growth Toxicity

Rao, Avani D. et al. International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics , Volume 103 , Issue 3 , 669 – 679

With the increasing use of advanced radiation techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, and proton therapy, radiation oncologists now have the tools to mitigate radiation-associated toxicities. This is of utmost importance in the treatment of a pediatric patient. To best use these advanced techniques to mitigate radiation-induced growth abnormalities, the radiation oncologist should be equipped with a nuanced understanding of the anatomy of centers of growth. This article aims to enable the radiation oncologist to better understand, predict, and minimize radiation-mediated toxicities on growth. We review the process of bone development and radiation-induced growth abnormalities and provide an atlas for contouring important growth plates to guide radiation treatment planning. A more detailed recognition of important centers of growth may improve future treatment outcomes in children receiving radiation therapy.

  1. Introduction
  2. Complexities of a Standard Dose Constraint
  3. Assessment of Skeletal Maturity and Completion of Growth
  4. Anatomic Road Map of Important Growth Plates and Clinical Correlates of Radiation-Associated Growth Toxicity
    1. Whole-brain radiation therapy
    2. Craniofacial radiation therapy
      1. Facial hypoplasia
      2. Orbital defects
    3. Shoulder and arm radiation therapy
      1. Clavicular narrowing
      2. Slipped proximal humeral epiphysis
      3. Arm-length discrepancy
    4. Pelvic radiation therapy
      1. Slipped capital femoral epiphysis
      2. Osteonecrosis
      3. Leg-length discrepancy
    5. Spinal irradiation
      1. Reduced final height
      2. Scoliosis
  5. Conclusion and Future Directions
  6. Supplementary Data
  7. References


Patient specific outcomes of charged particle therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma – A systematic review and quantitative analysis

Piotr Spychalskia, Jarek Kobielaa, Magdalena Antoszewskaa, Agata Błażyńska-Spychalskaa, Barbara A. Jereczek-Fossac, Morten Høyerb

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a raising condition world-wide. Most of patients are ineligible for surgery at diagnosis due to the advanced stage of the disease or poor medical condition of the patient. Charged particle therapy (CPT) is a radiotherapy modality showing promising results. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize current knowledge on patient-specific outcomes of CPT for HCC, including overall survival, local control, the effect of radiation dose and the toxicity burden (…)

Conclusions

CPT offers high local control, acceptable overall survival and low post-treatment morbidity. Quality of findings, especially on toxicities, is decreased by incomplete reporting and retrospective designs of available studies. Therefore, there is a strong need for better reporting and prospective studies.

https://www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S0167-8140(18)33651-X/fulltext

Risk of subsequent primary neoplasms in survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer (Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivor Study) : a population-based, cohort study

Chloe J Bright, PhD Raoul C Reulen, PhD David L Winter, HNC Daniel P Stark, MD Martin G McCabe, PhD Angela B Edgar, MD et al.

“A previous large case-control study showed a dose-response relation between radiotherapy and risk of lung cancer in breast cancer survivors diagnosed at any age (not AYA-specific). Existing literature suggests that chest radiotherapy and smoking are both likely contributors to the substantial number of excess neoplasms accounted for by lung cancer.

The bladder and bowel would be directly exposed if external-beam radiotherapy was used to treat cervical cancer. A large case-control study showed a dose-response relation between radiotherapy and the risk of both bladder and rectal cancers in cervical cancer survivors. Existing literature suggests that pelvic irradiation and smoking are likely contributors to the number of excess neoplasms accounted for by lung, colorectal, and bladder cancer. Clinical follow-up of survivors of AYA cervical cancer, particularly where pelvic irradiation is used, should focus on lung, bowel, and bladder cancers.

Treatment for testicular cancer can involve irradiating the para-aortic lymph nodes, which might explain the excess of subsequent primary neoplasms seen in abdominal sites (prostate, bladder, and colorectal). The excess of subsequent primary neoplasms observed in the abdomen is consistent with international studies of testicular cancer survivors. The excess of lung subsequent primary neoplasms might be caused by radiotherapy to the lungs, since previous studies have reported an increased risk of lung cancer in survivors of testicular cancer who were given chest radiotherapy. Clinical follow-up of survivors of AYA testicular cancer should focus on prostate, bladder, colorectal, and lung cancers.

The lungs would be directly exposed if external-beam radiotherapy was used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma; previous studies of Hodgkin lymphoma survivors have provided evidence of a dose-dependent increase in lung cancer risk with radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.”

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(18)30903-3/fulltext

Outcomes after Proton Therapy for Treatment of Pediatric High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Christine E. Hill-Kayser, MD, Zelig Tochner, MD, Yimei Li∗, Goldie Kurtz, MD, Robert A. Lustig, MD, Paul James, Naomi Balamuth, MD, Richard Womer, MD, Peter Mattei, Stephen Grupp, MD PhD, Yael P. Mosse, MD, John M. Maris, MD, Rochelle Bagatell, MD

Conclusions : “excellent outcomes in patients treated with Proton Therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma from 2010-2015, with 82% of patients alive and 97% free of primary site recurrence. No patient has experienced long-term renal or liver toxicity. This treatment maximizes normal tissue preservation and is appropriate for this patient population.”

https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(19)30190-7/pdf