Symptomatic leptomeningeal and intramedullary metastases from intracranial glioblastoma multiforme: A case report

Background. Glioblastoma multiforme infrequently metastasizes to the leptomeninges and even more rarely to the spinal cord. Moreover, very few patients with intracranial glioblastoma develop symptoms from spinal dissemination, with most patients not surviving long enough for spinal disease to become clinically evident. Case report. We present a rare case of symptomatic diffuse spinal leptomeningeal metastases simultaneously to an intramedullary lesion from an intracranial glioblastoma multiforme. After the diagnosis of spinal metastases the patient was treated with limited-field spinal radiotherapy (30 Gy in 3-Gy fractions). Results. Radiotherapy on the main spinal lesions provided either relief from pain or mild improvement of neurological deficits. The patient died due to intracranial progression 4 months after diagnosis of spinal seeding and 17 months after diagnosis of the primary disease. We analyzed leptomeningeal and spinal metastases from glioblastoma multiforme with reference to the literature. Conclusions. Radiotherapy for spinal disease may provide important symptom relief but the prognosis of these patients remains dramatically poor. As the local control of primary glioblastoma multiforme has improved with recent therapeutic advances, distant metastasis from high-grade gliomas is likely to become a more common clinical problem and such patients need to be included in clinical trials to evaluate new therapeutic approaches

Benefit of Radiation Boost After Whole-Breast Radiotherapy

PURPOSE: To determine whether a boost to the tumor bed after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and radiotherapy (RT) to the whole breast affects local control and disease-free survival. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 1,138 patients with pT1 to pT2 breast cancer underwent adjuvant RT at the University of Florence. We analyzed only patients with a minimum follow-up of 1 year (range, 1-20 years), with negative surgical margins. The median age of the patient population was 52.0 years (+/-7.9 years). The breast cancer relapse incidence probability was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between patient subgroups were compared by the log rank test. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the risk of breast cancer relapse. RESULTS: On univariate survival analysis, boost to the tumor bed reduced breast cancer recurrence (p < 0.0001). Age and tamoxifen also significantly reduced breast cancer relapse (p = 0.01 and p = 0.014, respectively). On multivariate analysis, the boost and the medium age (45-60 years) were found to be inversely related to breast cancer relapse (hazard ratio [HR], 0.27; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.14-0.52, and HR 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37-0.99, respectively). The effect of the boost was more evident in younger patients (HR, 0.15 and 95% CI, 0.03-0.66 for patients <45 years of age; and HR, 0.31 and 95% CI, 0.13-0.71 for patients 45-60 years) on multivariate analyses stratified by age, although it was not a significant predictor in women older than 60 years. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that boost to the tumor bed reduces breast cancer relapse and is more effective in younger patients

Quality of life in patients with chordomas/chondrosarcomas during treatment with proton beam therapy

Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HQL) parameters have never been tested in patients having chondromas/chondrosarcomas who are being treated with protons. The aim of this study was to document changes in HQL of chordoma/chondrosarcoma patients treated with proton beam radiotherapy. Treatments commenced in September 2011 at CNAO, and HQL studies were initiated in January 2012 for all patients undergoing treatment. Methods: The validated Italian translation of the EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3.0 was used for HQL evaluation. The HQL assessments were made prior to starting radiation and at completion of treatment. Scoring was as per the EORTC manual. As per standard norms, a difference of >10 points in the mean scores was taken to be clinically meaningful. Results: Between January and September 2012, 17 patients diagnosed with chordoma or chondrosarcoma, with a mean \ub1 SD age of 49.5 \ub1 16.4 years, had completed treatment. The involved sites were skull base (n = 12) and sacral/paraspinal (n = 5). The prescribed dose was 70-74 GyE at 2 GyE per fraction, 5 days/week. When comparing pre- and post-treatment scores, neither a clinically meaningful nor a statistically significant change was documented. Conclusions: During treatment, HQL is not adversely affected by protons, allowing normal life despite the long course of treatment. This is an ongoing study and more long-term assessment will help evaluate the actual impact of proton therapy on HQL for these slow-responding tumours

Re-irradiation with carbon ion radiotherapy for pelvic rectal cancer recurrences in patients previously irradiated to the pelvis

Background/Aim: Re-irradiation of locally recurrent rectal cancer poses challenges due to the proximity of critical organs, such as the bowel. This study aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of re-irradiation with Carbon Ion Radiotherapy (CIRT) in rectal cancer patients with local recurrence. Patients and Methods: Between 2014 and 2018, 14 patients were treated at the National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO Foundation) with CIRT for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Results: All patients concluded the treatment. No G≥3 acute/late reaction nor pelvic infections were observed. The 1-year and 2-year local control rates were, 78% and 52%, respectively, and relapse occurred close to the bowel in 6 patients. The 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates were 100% and 76.2% each; while the 1-year and 2-year metastasis free survival rates were 64.3% and 43%. Conclusion: CIRT as re-irradiation for locally recurrent rectal cancer emerges as a safe and valid treatment with an acceptable rate of morbidity of surrounding healthy tissue

Initial clinical experience with scanned proton beams at the Italian National Center for Hadrontherapy (CNAO)

We report the initial toxicity data with scanned proton beams at the Italian National Center for Hadrontherapy (CNAO). In September 2011, CNAO commenced patient treatment with scanned proton beams within two prospective Phase II protocols approved by the Italian Health Ministry. Patients with chondrosarcoma or chordoma of the skull base or spine were eligible. By October 2012, 21 patients had completed treatment. Immobilization was performed using rigid non-perforated thermoplastic-masks and customized headrests or body-pillows as indicated. Non-contrast CT scans with immobilization devices in place and MRI scans in supine position were performed for treatment-planning. For chordoma, the prescribed doses were 74 cobalt grey equivalent (CGE) and 54 CGE to planning target volume 1 (PTV1) and PTV2, respectively. For chondrosarcoma, the prescribed doses were 70 CGE and 54 CGE to PTV1 and PTV2, respectively. Treatment was delivered five days a week in 35-37 fractions. Prior to treatment, the patients' positions were verified using an optical tracking system and orthogonal X-ray images. Proton beams were delivered using fixed-horizontal portals on a robotic couch. Weekly MRI incorporating diffusion-weighted-imaging was performed during the course of proton therapy. Patients were reviewed once weekly and acute toxicities were graded with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Median age of patients = 50 years (range, 21-74). All 21 patients completed the proton therapy without major toxicities and without treatment interruption. Median dose delivered was 74 CGE (range, 70-74). The maximum toxicity recorded was CTCAE Grade 2 in four patients. Our preliminary data demonstrates the clinical feasibility of scanned proton beams in Italy

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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Radiation therapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma

Purpose Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) are rare tumours with an annual reported incidence of 2.7 per million persons. In spite of improvements in both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic strategies, patients afflicted by RPS still have poor prognoses. There are currently many different therapeutic strategies for these rare tumours and combining several different multi-modality strategies have not proved to have superior long-term clinical results. This review analyses the available published data and discusses multi-modality management of this rare entity. In particular, the role of radiation therapy, treatment-related side effects and the use of modern radiation treatment techniques will be discussed. Materials and methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed in January 2011. Relevant international articles published from January 1980 to January 2011 were assessed. The keywords for search purposes were: retroperitoneum, sarcoma, radiotherapy, and radiation therapy. The search was limited to articles published in English. All articles were read in full by the authors and selected for inclusion based on relevance to this article. Conclusions The addition of radiation therapy (RT) to wide surgical excision for RPS has improved local control rates when compared with surgery alone. Preoperative RT is preferred over postoperative RT. New types and delivery techniques in radiation therapy could further improve patient outcomes. Emerging therapies that employ charged particles (such as protons and carbon ions) are expected to be superior in sparing of normal tissues and efficacy over conventional photon therapy radiation, due to their physical and radiobiological properties