Adopting Integrated Care Pathways in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: From Theory to Practice

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Feasibility of concervative breast surgery and intraoperative radiation therapy for early breast cancer: A single-center, open, non-randomized, prospective pilot study

10noIntraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) consists of an accelerated, single-dose, partial breast irradiation, performed immediately after breast conservative surgery. In the present study, we report the results of our feasibility protocol study using IORT between 2005 and 2009. We analyzed the data from a single-center, open, non-randomized, prospective pilot study including patients who underwent breast conservative surgery for invasive breast cancer between January 2005 and December 2009 at our Clinic of Surgery. Patients were divided based on IORT performance and stratified by age (≥48 or <48 years). Data were analyzed using R (version 2.15.2), considering a level of significance at p<0.05. Among the 247 eligible patients, 81 accepted the IORT protocol. Intraoperative IORT feasibility was 95.1% (77/81). In 71.4% (55/77) of the cases no postoperative complication was registered. Concerning local recurrence and overall survival, no significant difference was observed between women who underwent the IORT protocol or standard treatment. Among the patients aged <48 years, no local recurrence was noted after IORT protocol, and among women aged ≥48, local recurrences developed later in patients treated with IORT than with standard treatment. IORT represents a feasible and promising technique for the treatment of early breast cancer, with low morbidity, and beneficial aesthetic and oncologic results. Further studies are required in order to extend the inclusion criteria and offer IORT to a larger number of breast cancer patients.nonenoneCedolini, Carla; Bertozzi, Serena; Seriau, Luca; Londero, Ambrogio P.; Concina, Serena; Moretti, Eugenia; Padovani, Renato; Pasqualucci, Alberto; Ceschia, Tino; Risaliti, AndreaCedolini, Carla; Bertozzi, Serena; Seriau, Luca; Londero, Ambrogio P.; Concina, Serena; Moretti, Eugenia; Padovani, Renato; Pasqualucci, Alberto; Ceschia, Tino; Risaliti, Andre

Prostate Cancer Treatment-Related Toxicity: Comparison between 3D-Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D-CRT) and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Techniques

Objective: This paper illustrates the results of a mono-institutional registry trial, aimed to test whether gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity rates were lower in localized prostate cancer patients treated with image-guided volumetric modulated arc therapy (IG-VMAT) compared to those treated with IG-3D conformal radiation therapy (IG-3DCRT). Materials and Methods: Histologically proven prostate cancer patients with organ-confined disease, treated between October 2008 and September 2014 with moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy, were reviewed. Fiducial markers were placed in the prostate gland by transrectal ultrasound guide. The prescribed total dose was 70 Gy in 28 fractions. The mean and median dose volume constraints for bladder and rectum as well as total volume of treatment were analyzed as potentially prognostic factors influencing toxicity. The Kaplan–Meier method was applied to calculate survival. Results: Overall, 83 consecutive patients were included. Forty-two (50.6%) patients were treated with 3D-CRT and 41 (49.4%) with the VMAT technique. The median follow-up for toxicity was 77.26 months for the whole cohort. The VMAT allowed for a dose reduction to the rectum and bladder for the large majority of the considered parameters; nonetheless, the only parameter correlated with a clinical outcome was a rectal dose limit V66 > 8.5% for late GI toxicity G ≥ 2 (p = 0.045). Rates of G ≥ 2 toxicities were low among the whole cohort of these patients treated with IGRT. The analysis for rectum dose volume histograms (DVHs) showed that a severe (grade ≥ 2) late GI toxicity was related with the rectal dose limit V66 > 8.5% (p = 0.045). Conclusions: This study shows that moderate hypofractionation is feasible and safe in patients with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer. Daily IGRT may decrease acute and late toxicity to organs at risk and improve clinical benefit and disease control rate, cutting down the risk of PTV geographical missing. The adoption of VMAT allows for promising results in terms of OAR sparing and a reduction in toxicity that, also given the small sample, did not reach statistical significance

Prognostic Stratification of Stage IIIA pN2 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by Hierarchical Clustering Analysis of Tissue Microarray Immunostaining Data: An Alpe Adria Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Group Study (ATOM 014)

IntroductionStage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node metastases (N2) is a heterogeneous disease with differing prognoses. In this study, we retrospectively investigated the prognostic value of the expression of 10 molecular markers in 87 patients with stage IIIA pN2 NSCLC treated with radical surgery.MethodsPrimary tumor tissue microarrays (TMAs) were constructed and sections used for immunohistochemical analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor, ErbB-2, c-kit, cyclooxygenase-2, survivin, bcl-2, cyclin D1, cyclin B1, metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9. Univariate and multivariate analyses and unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis of clinical pathologic and immunostaining data were performed.ResultsBcl-2 (p < 0.0001) and cyclin D1 (p = 0.015) were more highly expressed in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), whereas MMP-2 (p = 0.009), MMP-9 (p = 0.005), and survivin (p = 0.032) had increased expression in other histologic subtypes. In univariate analysis, SCC histology and cyclin D1 expressions were favorable prognostic factors (p = 0.015 and p < 0.0001, respectively); by contrast, MMP-9 expression was associated with worse prognosis (p = 0.042). In multivariate analysis, cyclin D1 was the only positive prognostic factor (p < 0.0001). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis of TMA immunostaining data identified five distinct clusters. They formed two subsets of patients with better (clusters 1 and 2) and worse (clusters 3, 4, and 5) prognoses, and median survival of 51 and 10 months, respectively (p < 0.0001). The better prognosis subset mainly comprised patients with SCC (80%).ConclusionsHierarchical clustering of TMA immunostaining data using a limited set of markers identifies patients with stage IIIA pN2 NSCLC at high risk of recurrence, who may benefit from more aggressive treatment