A "SHort course Accelerated RadiatiON therapy" (SHARON) During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current pandemic situation posed significant problems for radiotherapy (RT) services. In addition to the need to treat COVID-positive patients, it is important to protect health workers and healthy patients from the infection. Although some restrictions are being removed, it is not sure when the pandemic is actually going to be definitively over. Radiation oncologists (ROs) will be forced to face the pandemic for an unknown time interval (1). A recent guideline has been published on the possibility of adapting RT strategies in all settings (2). Particularly along the first months of pandemic spread, hypofractionated RT schedules adequately managing different clinical settings have been proposed to reduce the number of interactions and contacts in hospitals (for both patients–patients and patients–RT personnel), while delivering effective treatments (3–5). Only few were specifically dedicated to palliative RT or particularly oriented to relevant palliative presentations (e.g., bone metastases) (6). With the aim of decreasing hospital contacts, it has been proposed to omit, or delay, or modify the usual prescribed RT regimens (6), more often for palliative settings. However, in the field of palliative RT any omission and delay can dramatically worsen patients’ quality of life. In fact, the proposal to omit palliative radiotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been widely accepted, with some authors being worried by its clinical and ethical implications (7, 8). We would like to draw attention to a RT regimen tested in different settings. This scheme of SHort course Accelerated RadiatiON therapy: “SHARON” allows to complete a palliative RT course in four sessions and in only 2 days, using a double daily fractionation

Improving the Integration between Palliative Radiotherapy and Supportive Care: A Narrative Review

Palliative radiotherapy (PRT) is known to be effective in relieving cancer related symptoms. However, many studies and clinical practice show several barriers hindering its use and worsening the quality of patient support during PRT. Various solutions were proposed to overcome these barriers: training on PRT for supportive and palliative care specialists and training on palliative care for radiation oncologists, and introduction of pathways and organizational models specifically dedicated to PRT. Evidence on innovative organizational models and mutual training experiences is few and sparse. Therefore, the aim of this literature review is to present a quick summary of the information available on improving the PRT quality through training, new pathways, and innovative organizational models. The majority of studies on the integration of PRT with other palliative and supportive therapies present low levels of evidence being mostly retrospective analyses. However, it should be emphasized that all reports uniformly showed advantages coming from the integration of PRT with supportive therapies. To actively participate in the integration of PRT and palliative care, providing comprehensive support to the needs of patients with advanced cancer, radiation oncologists should not only plan PRT but also: (i) assess and manage symptoms and stress, (ii) rapidly refer patients to specialists in management of more complex symptoms, and (iii) participate in multidisciplinary palliative care teams. To this end, improved education in palliative care both in residency schools and during professional life through continuous medical education is clearly needed. In particular, effective training is needed for radiotherapy residents to enable them to provide patients with comprehensive palliative care. Therefore, formal teaching of adequate duration, interactive teaching methods, attendance in palliative care services, and education in advanced palliative care should be planned in post-graduated schools of radiotherapy

Intensity modulated radiation therapy for breast cancer: Current perspectives

open9noBackground: Owing to highly conformed dose distribution, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has the potential to improve treatment results of radiotherapy (RT). Postoperative RT is a standard adjuvant treatment in conservative treatment of breast cancer (BC). The aim of this review is to analyze available evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on IMRT in BC, particularly in terms of reduction of side effects. Methods: A literature search of the bibliographic database PubMed, from January 1990 through November 2016, was performed. Only RCTs published in English were included. Results: Ten articles reporting data from 5 RCTs fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in our review. Three out of 5 studies enrolled only selected patients in terms of increased risk of toxicity. Three studies compared IMRT with standard tangential RT. One study compared the results of IMRT in the supine versus the prone position, and one study compared standard treatment with accelerated partial breast IMRT. Three studies reported reduced acute and/or late toxicity using IMRT compared with standard RT. No study reported improved quality of life. Conclusion: IMRT seems able to reduce toxicity in selected patients treated with postoperative RT for BC. Further analyses are needed to better define patients who are candidates for this treatment modality.openBuwenge, Milly; Cammelli, Silvia; Ammendolia, Ilario; Tolento, Giorgio; Zamagni, Alice; Arcelli, Alessandra; Macchia, Gabriella; Deodato, Francesco; Cilla, Savino; Morganti, Alessio G.Buwenge, Milly; Cammelli, Silvia; Ammendolia, Ilario; Tolento, Giorgio; Zamagni, Alice; Arcelli, Alessandra; Macchia, Gabriella; Deodato, Francesco; Cilla, Savino; Morganti, Alessio G

Stereotactic radiotherapy of pancreatic cancer: A systematic review on pain relief

Locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma (LAPC) has a poor prognosis and the purpose of treatment is survival prolongation and symptom palliation. Radiotherapy has been reported to reduce pain in LAPC. Stereotactic RT (SBRT) is considered as an emerging radiotherapy technique able to achieve high local control rates with acceptable toxicity. However, its role in pain palliation is not clear. To review the impact on pain relief with SBRT in LAPC patients, a literature search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, and Embase (January 2000\u2013December 2017) for prospective and retrospective articles published in English. Fourteen studies (479 patients) reporting the effect of SBRT on pain relief were finally included in this analysis. SBRT was delivered with both standard and/or robotic linear accelerators. The median prescribed SBRT doses ranged from 16.5 to 45 Gy (median: 27.8 Gy), and the number of fractions ranged from 1 to 6 (median: 3.5). Twelve of the 14 studies reported the percentage of pain relief (in patients with pain at presentation) with a global overall response rate (complete and partial response) of 84.9% (95% CI, 75.8%\u201391.5%), with high heterogeneity (Q2 test: P<0.001; I2=83.63%). All studies reported toxicity data. Acute and late toxicity (grade 653) rates were 3.3%\u201318.0% and 6.0%\u20138.2%, respectively. Reported gastrointestinal side effects were duodenal obstruction/ ulcer, small bowel obstruction, duodenal bleeding, hemorrhage, and gastric perforation. SBRT achieves pain relief in most patients with pancreatic cancer with an acceptable gastrointestinal toxicity rate. Further prospective studies are needed to define optimal dose/fractionation and the best systemic therapies modality integration to reduce toxicity and improve the palliative outcome. Finally, the quality of life and, particularly, pain control should be considered as an endpoint in all future trials on this emerging treatment technique

CARE-compliant stereotactic radiotherapy of urothelial nodal metastases: A case report

The aim of the present study was to report the case of a 58-year-old male patient with ureteral carcinoma who underwent ureteroileostomy treatment. At 2 years following surgery, six lymph node metastases (LNMs) were detected in the patient's para-aortic and pelvic regions using F-18-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. All LNMs were treated using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT; 35-40 Gy/5 fractions). At 3 months after radiotherapy, F-18-FDG-PET/CT examination revealed a complete radiological and metabolic response of all targeted treatment sites in the patient. In the 2 years following radiotherapy, another three same-dose SBRT treatments were performed on single or multiple LNMs, which were all detected in the abdomen and pelvis of the patient. Overall, a total of 11 LNMs were targeted in the patient and all exhibited complete radiological and metabolic response following treatment. The only treatment side effect reported by the patient was a slight and temporary loss of appetite. In patients with lymph node oligometastases there are two options for radiotherapy: i) Irradiation focusing on LNMs alone; and ii) prophylactic irradiation of the entire lymph node area combined with a boost on macroscopic lesions. In the patient discussed in the present study, the choice of irradiation focusing on LNMs alone made it possible to postpone systemic therapies and instead use an optimally tolerated treatment. The treatment outcome in this patient indicated that there was no radioresistance of urothelial LNMs

Hypofractionated radiotherapy after conservative surgery may increase low-intermediate grade late fibrosis in breast cancer patients

patients Abstract Fulltext Metrics Get Permission Cite this article Authors Diges\uf9 C, Deodato F, Macchia G, Cilla S, Pieri M, Zamagni A, Farioli A, Buwenge M, Ferrandina G, Morganti AG Received 12 March 2018 Accepted for publication 23 May 2018 Published 3 October 2018 Volume 2018:10 Pages 143\u2014151 DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/BCTT.S167914 Checked for plagiarism Yes Review by Single-blind Peer reviewer comments 3 Editor who approved publication: Professor Pranela Rameshwar Article has an altmetric score of 2 Cinzia Diges\uf9,1 Francesco Deodato,1 Gabriella Macchia,1 Savino Cilla,2 Martina Pieri,3 Alice Zamagni,4 Andrea Farioli,5 Milly Buwenge,4 Gabriella Ferrandina,6,* Alessio G Morganti4,* 1Radiotherapy Unit, General Oncology Unit, Fondazione Giovanni Paolo II, Campobasso, Italy; 2Medical Physics Unit, Fondazione Giovanni Paolo II, Campobasso, Italy; 3Radiotherapy Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Meldola, Italy; 4Radiation Oncology Center, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 5Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 6Department of Woman and Child Health, Gynecologic Oncology Unit, Fondazione \u201cPoliclinico Universitario A. Gemelli\u201d, IRCSS, Universita\u2019 Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: To compare late toxicity after postoperative hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) and standard fractionated RT in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma. Methods: This retrospective study included 447 patients (Modulated Accelerated Radiotherapy [MARA-1]: 317 patients, and control group [CG]: 130 patients). In the CG, the whole breast received 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions (fx) using 3D-radiotherapy, plus a sequential electron boost (10 Gy in 4 fx) to tumor bed. In MARA-1 group, a forward-planned intensity-modulated radiotherapy technique with 40 Gy in 16 fx with a concomitant boost of 4 Gy to breast was used. The primary endpoint was to evaluate late toxicity, and secondary endpoints were acute toxicity, local control, and survival. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03461224. Results: Median follow-up was 52 months (range: 3\u2013115 months). Late skin and subcutaneous toxicity were acceptable: 5-year actuarial cumulative incidence of Grade (G) 3 late skin toxicity was 1.5% in CG and 0.0% in MARA-1. Five-year actuarial cumulative incidence of G3 late subcutaneous toxicity was 0.8% in CG and 0.3% in MARA-1. On multivariate analysis, tobacco smoking and planning target volume were associated with an increased risk of late G1 skin toxicity (HR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.38\u20133.34 and HR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.07\u20131.18, respectively), whereas patients with a larger planning target volume also showed an increased risk of G1 and G2 late subcutaneous toxicity (HR: 1.14, CI 95%: 1.08\u20131.20 and HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.01\u20131.28, respectively). MARA-1 patients also showed an increased risk of late G1 and G2 subcutaneous toxicity (HR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.61\u20133.41 and HR: 3.07, 95% CI: 1.11\u20138.53, respectively) compared to CG. Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis, postoperative accelerated-hypofractionated RT for early-stage-breast carcinoma was associated with higher incidence of subcutaneous side effects. However, this increase was limited to G1\u2013G2 toxicity. In the future, development of predictive models could help in tailoring dose and fractionation based on the risk of toxicity

Personalized Automation of Treatment Planning for Linac-Based Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy of Spine Cancer

Purpose/Objective(s)Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SBRT) for vertebral metastases is a challenging treatment process. Planning automation has recently reported the potential to improve plan quality and increase planning efficiency. We performed a dosimetric evaluation of the new Personalized engine implemented in Pinnacle3 for full planning automation of SBRT spine treatments in terms of plan quality, treatment efficiency, and delivery accuracy. Materials/MethodsThe Pinnacle3 treatment planning system was used to reoptimize six patients with spinal metastases, employing two separate automated engines. These two automated engines, the existing Autoplanning and the new Personalized, are both template-based algorithms that employ a wishlist to construct planning goals and an iterative technique to replicate the planning procedure performed by skilled planners. The boost tumor volume (BTV) was defined as the macroscopically visible lesion on RM examination, and the planning target volume (PTV) corresponds with the entire vertebra. Dose was prescribed according to simultaneous integrated boost strategy with BTV and PTV irradiated simultaneously over 3 fractions with a dose of 30 and 21 Gy, respectively. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) metrics and conformance indices were used to compare clinically accepted manual plans (MP) with automated plans developed using both Autoplanning (AP) and Personalized engines (Pers). All plans were evaluated for planning efficiency and dose delivery accuracy. ResultsFor similar spinal cord sparing, automated plans reported a significant improvement of target coverage and dose conformity. On average, Pers plans increased near-minimal dose D98% by 10.4% and 8.9% and target coverage D95% by 8.0% and by 4.6% for BTV and PTV, respectively. Automated plans provided significantly superior dose conformity and dose contrast by 37%-47% and by 4.6%-5.7% compared with manual plans. Overall planning times were dramatically reduced to about 15 and 23 min for Pers and AP plans, respectively. The average beam-on times were found to be within 3 min for all plans. Despite the increased complexity, all plans passed the 2%/2 mm gamma-analysis for dose verification. ConclusionAutomated planning for spine SBRT through the new Pinnacle3 Personalized engine provided an overall increase of plan quality in terms of dose conformity and a major increase in efficiency. In this complex anatomical site, Personalized strongly reduce the tradeoff between optimal accurate dosimetry and planning time

Pain Relief after Stereotactic Radiotherapy of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: An Updated Systematic Review

Severe pain is frequent in patients with locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDCA). Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) provides high local control rates in these patients. The aim of this review was to systematically analyze the available evidence on pain relief in patients with PDCA. We updated our previous systematic review through a search on PubMed of papers published from 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2021. Studies with full available text, published in English, and reporting pain relief after SBRT on PDCA were included in this analysis. Statistical analysis was carried out using the MEDCALC statistical software. All tests were two-sided. The I-2 statistic was used to quantify statistical heterogeneity (high heterogeneity level: >50%). Nineteen papers were included in this updated literature review. None of them specifically aimed at assessing pain and/or quality of life. The rate of analgesics reduction or suspension ranged between 40.0 and 100.0% (median: 60.3%) in six studies. The pooled rate was 71.5% (95% CI, 61.6-80.0%), with high heterogeneity between studies (Q(2) test: p < 0.0001; I-2 = 83.8%). The rate of complete response of pain after SBRT ranged between 30.0 and 81.3% (median: 48.4%) in three studies. The pooled rate was 51.9% (95% CI, 39.3-64.3%), with high heterogeneity (Q(2) test: p < 0.008; I-2 = 79.1%). The rate of partial plus complete pain response ranged between 44.4 and 100% (median: 78.6%) in nine studies. The pooled rate was 78.3% (95% CI, 71.0-84.5%), with high heterogeneity (Q(2) test: p < 0.0001; I-2 = 79.4%). A linear regression with sensitivity analysis showed significantly improved overall pain response as the EQD2 alpha/beta:10 increases (p: 0.005). Eight papers did not report any side effect during and after SBRT. In three studies only transient acute effects were recorded. The results of the included studies showed high heterogeneity. However, SBRT of PDCA resulted reasonably effective in producing pain relief in these patients. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of SBRT in this setting based on Patient-Reported Outcomes

Stereotactic radiotherapy of nodal oligometastases from prostate cancer: a prisma-compliant systematic review

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard treatment of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). However, metastases-directed therapies can delay the initiation or switch of systemic treatments and allow local control (LC) and prolonged progression-free survival (PFS), particularly in patients with lymph nodes (LN) oligometastases. We performed a systematic review on stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in this setting. Papers reporting LC and/or PFS were selected. Data on ADT-free survival, overall survival, and toxicity were also collected from the selected studies. Fifteen studies were eligible (414 patients), 14 of them were retrospective analyses. A high heterogeneity was observed in terms of patient selection and treatment. In one study SBRT was delivered as a single 20 Gy fraction, while in the others the median total dose ranged between 24 and 40 Gy delivered in 3-6 fractions. LC and PFS were reported in 15 and 12 papers, respectively. LC was reported as a crude percentage in 13 studies, with 100% rate in seven and 63.2-98.0% in six reports. Five studies reported actuarial LC (2-year LC: 70.0-100%). PFS was reported as a crude rate in 11 studies (range 27.3-68.8%). Actuarial 2-year PFS was reported in four studies (range 30.0-50.0%). SBRT tolerability was excellent, with only two patients with grade 3 acute toxicity and two patients with grade 3 late toxicity. SBRT for LN oligorecurrences from PCa in safe and provides optimal LC. However, the long-term effect on PFS and OS is still unclear as well as which patients are the best candidate for this approach

Impact and Treatment of Sarcopenia in Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy: A Multidisciplinary, AMSTAR-2 Compliant Review of Systematic Reviews and Metanalyses

BackgroundSarcopenia (SP) is defined as the quantitative and functional impairment of skeletal muscles. SP is commonly related to older age and is frequent in patients with cancer. To provide an overview of SP in patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) and to evaluate the current evidence, we analyzed the available systematic reviews and meta-analyses. MethodsReviews were identified using PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane library databases, without date restriction. Only systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the prognostic impact of SP and on any treatments aimed at reducing SP effect, in patients undergoing RT, were included in this review. The analyses not separately reporting the results in patients treated with RT were excluded. The quality assessment was performed using AMSTAR-2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews). ResultsFrom the 84 papers identified, five reviews met the inclusion criteria with four reports mainly including non-randomized trials. Three reviews on the effect of SP showed a significantly negative impact on overall survival in patients undergoing RT and/or chemoradiation for H&N cancers (HR: 1.63-2.07). Two reviews on interventional studies showed the possibility of 1) improving physical functions through nutritional and physical interventions and 2) avoiding muscle wasting by means of sufficient protein intake. The quality assessment of the included review showed that two and three analyses are classifiable as having low and moderate overall confidence rating, respectively. ConclusionsThe analyzed reviews uniformly confirmed the negative impact of SP in patients with H&N tumors undergoing RT and the possibility of improving muscle mass and function through nutritional and physical interventions. These results justify further research on this topic based on a more uniform SP definition and on a complete evaluation of the potentially confounding parameters