Impact of upgraded radiotherapy system on outcomes in postoperative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Background: This study was performed to evaluate the impact of upgrade of radiotherapy system, including launch of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), on the therapeutic outcomes. Materials and methods: Patients with head and neck (H&N) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who underwent postoperative radiotherapy at our hospital between June 2009 and July 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. In July 2014, we converted the radiotherapy technique for these patients from a 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) to IMRT, along with the adoption of a meticulous planning policy and a few advanced procedures, including online imaging guidance. Results: A total of 136 patients (57 treated with the previous system and 79 treated with the upgraded system) were reviewed. There were significantly more patients with extracapsular extension in the upgraded-system group than the previous-system group (p = 0.0021). There were significantly fewer patients with ≥ Grade 2 acute and late adverse events in the upgraded-system group than the previous-system group. The differences in progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DFFS), locoregional progression-free survival (LRPFS), and overall survival (OS) between the two groups were not statistically significant (p = 0.8962, 0.9926, 0.6244, and 0.4827, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that the upgrade had neither positive nor negative impact on survival outcomes. Extracapsular extension was independently associated with decreased LRPFS and OS (p = 0.0499 and 0.0392, respectively). Conclusions: The IMRT-centered upgrade was beneficial for the postoperative patients with H&N SCC, because survival outcomes were sustained with less toxicities.

Outcomes of uterine cervical cancer patients with pelvic lymph node metastases after radiotherapy without boost irradiation of metastases.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of uterine cervical cancer patients with pelvic lymph node (PLN) metastases after radiotherapy without boost irradiation of the metastases and to clarify the necessity of the boost irradiation of metastatic lesions. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with uterine cervical cancer metastasizing only to the PLN were treated with definitive radiotherapy without boost irradiation of the metastases between 2008 and 2012 at our institution and were selected for this study. The pattern of progression, overall survival, and progression-free survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the PLN metastases were controlled by radiotherapy. Twenty-two of 32 patients (69%) experienced progression. Distant metastases as initial progression were observed in 21 of these 22 patients (95%). Only two patients experienced failures in pre-treatment metastatic PLN as initial progression, along with other failures. Severe late lower gastrointestinal toxicities were not observed in any patients. Two-year cumulative overall survival and progression-free survival were 74% and 31%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Boost irradiation of PLN metastases is not necessarily indispensable. Further studies to examine the necessity of boost irradiation of PLN metastases in radiotherapy for uterine cervical cancer patients with metastases are required.

Ten-Year Experience of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy at a Single Institution: Impact of Technological Development on the Outcome of Patients With Early Lung Cancer.

PURPOSE: Advanced radiotherapeutic techniques and apparatus have been developed and widely applied in stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, but their clinical benefits have not necessarily been confirmed. This study was performed to review our 10-year experience with therapy for the disease and to evaluate whether the advanced radiotherapeutic system implemented in our hospital 5 years after we began the therapy improved the clinical outcomes of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent the therapy at our hospital between April 2008 and March 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. They were divided into 2 groups treated with the conventional system or the advanced system, and the characteristics and clinical outcomes were compared between the groups. The same analyses were also performed in propensity-matched patients from the 2 groups. RESULTS: Among the 73 patients eligible for this study, 42 were treated with the conventional system and 31 with the advanced system. All were treated as planned, and severe adverse events were rare. The local progression-free survival rate in the advanced system group was significantly higher than in the conventional system group (P = 0.025). In the propensity-matched patients, both the local progression-free survival rate and the overall survival rate were significantly higher compared in the advanced system group than the conventional system group (P = 0.089 and 0.080, respectively). CONCLUSION: The advanced system improved the outcomes of patients with the disease, suggesting that technological development has had a strong impact on clinical outcomes.

Palliative radiotherapy for Japanese patients with malignant melanoma: a single-institution experience.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to clarify the significance of palliative radiotherapy for Japanese patients with malignant melanoma based on the experience of our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with malignant melanoma who underwent palliative radiotherapy at our facility were included in the investigation. Median radiation dose was 30 Gy (4-30). RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 4.2 months (range 2.7-40.5 months). Twenty-two patient (75.9%) died during the follow-up. The response rate of overall symptoms to radiotherapy was 63.0%. The rate of completely resolved hemorrhage was relatively high (81.8%). The median time of freedom from progression in completely resolved symptoms was 3.1 months (range 0.2-27.8 months). Radiation dose <30 Gy and poor performance status tended to be associated with poor symptomatic relief in treatment site (p = .080 and p = .068, respectively). There were very few severe toxic events. CONCLUSION: Two thirds of symptoms were safely alleviated by palliative radiotherapy for Japanese patients with malignant melanoma. The therapeutic effect was retained for a substantial duration. Further domestic studies are warranted.

Validity of reduced radiation dose for localized diffuse large B-cell lymphoma showing a good response to chemotherapy.

To evaluate the validity of a decrease in the radiation dose for patients who were good responders to chemotherapy for localized diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 91 patients with localized DLBCL who underwent radiotherapy after multi-agent chemotherapy from 1988-2008 were reviewed. Exclusion criteria were as follows: central nervous system or nasal cavity primary site, or Stage II with bulky tumor (≥10 cm). Of these patients, 62 were identified as good responders to chemotherapy. They were divided into two groups receiving either a higher or a lower radiation dose (32-50.4 Gy or 15-30.6 Gy, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences between the lower and higher dose groups in progression-free survival, locoregional progression-free survival or overall survival. Adaptation of decreased radiation dose may be valid for localized DLBCL patients who show a good response to chemotherapy.