Carbon-ion radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with major vascular invasion: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI) significantly impacts survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), warranting systemic therapy over locoregional therapy. Despite novel approaches, HCC with MVI has a poor prognosis compared to early-to intermediate-stage HCC. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for HCC characterized by MVI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated HCC patients with MVI treated using C-ion RT with a dose of 45.0-48.0 Gy/2 fractions or 52.8-60.0 Gy/4 fractions between 1995 and 2020 at our institution in Japan. We analyzed the prognostic factors and rates of local recurrence, survival, and adverse events. The local recurrence rate was determined using the cumulative incidence function, with death as a competing event. Survival rates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test for univariate analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model for multivariate analysis were used to compare subgroups. RESULTS: In total, 76 patients with a median age of 71 years (range, 45-86 years) were evaluated. Among them, 68 had Child-Pugh grade A while eight had grade B disease. In 17 patients, the vascular tumor thrombus reached the inferior vena cava or main trunk of the portal vein. Over a median follow-up period of 27.9 months (range, 1.5-180.4 months), the 2-year overall survival, progression-free survival, and local recurrence rates were 70.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 57.7-79.4%), 32.7% (95% CI: 22.0-43.8%), and 8.9% (95% CI: 1.7-23.5%), respectively. A naïve tumor and a single lesion were significant prognostic factors for overall survival in the univariate analysis. Albumin-bilirubin grade 1 and a single lesion were independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Overall, four patients (5%) experienced grade 3 late adverse events, with no observed grade 4 or 5 acute or late adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: C-ion RT for HCC with MVI showed favorable local control and survival benefits with minimal toxicity.

Case of Successful Sympathetic Nerve Modulation by Targeted Heavy Ion Radiotherapy for Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia.

Non-invasive radioablation using stereotactic body radiation therapy with X-ray has been proposed as a rescue treatment for refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, there are concerns about the occurrence of late valvular or coronary disease. We treated VT originating from the aortic sinus cusp using the Bragg peak principle of a heavy ion beam, minimizing the dose to the aortic valve and coronary artery and providing an anti-arrhythmic effect and cardiac function recovery due to improved sympathetic nerve heterogeneity. We present a method for targeting sympathetic nerve distribution using 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy.

Carbon-ion radiotherapy for oligometastatic liver disease: A national multicentric study by the Japan Carbon-Ion Radiation Oncology Study Group (J-CROS).

Reports on the therapeutic efficacy and safety of carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for oligometastatic liver disease are limited, with insufficient evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of C-ion RT for oligometastatic liver disease at all Japanese facilities using the nationwide cohort data. We reviewed the medical records to obtain the nationwide cohort registry data on C-ion RT between May 2016 and June 2020. Patients (1) with oligometastatic liver disease as confirmed by histological or diagnostic imaging, (2) with ≤3 synchronous liver metastases at the time of treatment, (3) without active extrahepatic disease, and (4) who received C-ion RT for all metastatic regions with curative intent were included in this study. C-ion RT was performed with 58.0-76.0 Gy (relative biological effectiveness [RBE]) in 1-20 fractions. In total, 102 patients (121 tumors) were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up duration for all patients was 19.0 months. The median tumor size was 27 mm. The 1-year/2-year overall survival, local control, and progression-free survival rates were 85.1%/72.8%, 90.5%/78.0%, and 48.3%/27.1%, respectively. No patient developed grade 3 or higher acute or late toxicity. C-ion RT is a safe and effective treatment for oligometastatic liver disease and may be beneficial as a local treatment option in multidisciplinary treatment.

Estimation of post-therapeutic liver reserve capacity using 99mTc-GSA scintigraphy prior to carbon-ion radiotherapy for liver tumors.

BACKGROUND: There is currently no established imaging method for assessing liver reserve capacity prior to carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) for liver tumors. In order to perform safe CIRT, it is essential to estimate the post-therapeutic residual reserve capacity of the liver. PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of pre-treatment 99mTc-galactosyl human serum albumin (99mTc-GSA) scintigraphy to accurately estimate the residual liver reserve capacity in patients treated with CIRT for liver tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated patients who were performed CIRT for liver tumors between December 2018 and September 2020 and underwent 99mTc-GSA scintigraphy before and 3 months after CIRT, and gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI within 1 month before CIRT were evaluated. The maximal removal rate of 99mTc-GSA (GSA-Rmax) was analyzed for the evaluation of pre-treatment liver reserve capacity. Then, the GSA-Rmax of the estimated residual liver (GSA-RL) was calculated using liver SPECT images fused with the Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI. GSA-RL before CIRT and GSA-Rmax at 3 months after CIRT were compared using non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 50 patients were included (mean age ± standard deviation, 73 years ± 11; range, 29-89 years, 35 men). The median GSA-RL was 0.393 [range, 0.057-0.729] mg/min, and the median GSA-Rmax after CIRT was 0.369 [range, 0.037-0.780] mg/min (P = .40). The linear regression equation representing the relationship between the GSA-RL and GSA-Rmax after CIRT was y = 0.05 + 0.84x (R2 = 0.67, P < .0001). There was a linear relationship between the estimated and actual post-treatment values for all patients, as well as in the group with impaired liver reserve capacity (y = - 0.02 + 1.09x (R2 = 0.62, P = .0005)). CONCLUSIONS: 99mTc-GSA scintigraphy has potential clinical utility for estimating the residual liver reserve capacity in patients undergoing carbon-ion radiotherapy for liver tumors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN000038328, https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000043545 .

A Phase Ib Study of Durvalumab (MEDI4736) in Combination with Carbon-Ion Radiotherapy and Weekly Cisplatin for Patients with Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer (DECISION Study): The Early Safety and Efficacy Results.

We conducted a phase Ib study to examine the safety of a combination of carbon-ion RT (CIRT) with durvalumab (MEDI4736; AstraZeneca) in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. This was an open-label, single-arm study with a modified 3 + 3 design. Patients with newly diagnosed histologically proven locally advanced cervical cancer were enrolled. All patients received 74.4 Gy of CIRT in 20 fractions and concurrent weekly cisplatin (chemo-CIRT) at a dose of 40 mg/m2. Durvalumab was administered (1500 mg/body) at weeks two and six. The primary endpoint was the incidence of adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs), including dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). All three enrolled patients completed the treatment without interruption. One patient developed hypothyroidism after treatment and was determined to be an SAE. No other SAEs were observed. The patient recovered after levothyroxine sodium hydrate treatment. None of the AEs, including hypothyroidism, were associated with DLT in the present study. All three patients achieved complete responses within the CIRT region concerning treatment efficacy. This phase 1b trial demonstrates the safety of combining chemo-CIRT and durvalumab for locally advanced cervical cancer in the early phase. Further research is required as only three patients were included in this study.

Risk of secondary malignancy after radiotherapy for breast cancer: long-term follow-up of Japanese patients with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: There have been very few reports of secondary malignancies after breast cancer treatment in Asia, particularly in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of secondary malignancies after radiotherapy (RT) in Japanese breast cancer patients. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included patients who underwent RT between July 1961 and September 2006 for postoperative breast cancer. A total of 702 patients with a follow-up period of more than 5 years were analyzed. All malignancies observed at more than 5 years after the start of RT were defined as secondary malignancies. To calculate the relative risk (RR) of secondary malignancies, we applied data from the National Cancer Center in Japan. RESULTS: The median observation period was 9.7 (interquartile range 7.1-18.2) years. The cumulative person-years of observation were 6879.4. The RR of contralateral breast cancer increased by 1.85-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-3.26) among patients compared with that among the general population; however, the difference was not significant (p = 0.053). The RR of secondary malignancies other than breast cancer increased by 2.71-fold (95% CI 1.99-3.70, p < 0.001) among the patients compared with the general population. Even when only malignancies detected more than 10 years after RT were defined as secondary malignancies, the RR of secondary malignancies other than breast cancer was 1.91 (95% CI 1.33-2.73, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The incidence of secondary malignancies after RT may be somewhat higher in Japanese patients with breast cancer than in the general population.

Carbon-ion radiotherapy versus radiofrequency ablation as initial treatment for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: Carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) has shown potential as a curative treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, no reports have compared the effectiveness of C-ion RT and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes between C-ion RT and RFA for patients with early-stage HCC. METHODS: Medical records of consecutive patients with HCC (single lesion ≤5 cm or two to three lesions ≤3 cm) who received either C-ion RT or RFA as initial treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for clinical factors between both groups. RESULTS: A total of 560 patients were included, among whom 69 and 491 received C-ion RT and RFA, respectively. After PSM (C-ion RT, 54 patients; RFA, 95 patients), both groups were well balanced. Carbon-ion radiotherapy had significantly lower cumulative intrasubsegmental recurrence rate after PSM compared to RFA (p = 0.004) (2-year, 12.6% vs. 31.7%; 5-year, 15.5% vs. 49.6%, respectively). However, no significant difference in cumulative local recurrence rate, stage progression-free survival, or overall survival (OS) was observed between both groups. In the RFA group, 6 of 491 patients (1.2%) showed grade 3 adverse events, whereas no grade 3 or higher adverse events were observed in the C-ion RT group. CONCLUSION: Carbon-ion radiotherapy provided a lower cumulative intrasubsegmental recurrence rate, but a comparable cumulative local recurrence rate, stage progression-free survival, and OS compared to RFA. Thus, C-ion RT appears to be one of the effective treatment options for early-stage HCC when RFA is deemed not indicated.

External validation of the Candiolo nomogram for high-risk prostate cancer patients treated with carbon ion radiotherapy plus androgen deprivation therapy: a retrospective cohort study.

The aim of this study was to reclassify high-risk prostate cancer patients treated with carbon-ion radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy using the Candiolo nomogram and evaluate usefulness to predict the following 10-year biochemical recurrence. Six hundred seventy-two high-risk prostate cancer patients were reclassified according to the Candiolo nomogram. The cumulative incidence curves for biochemical recurrence were compared by Gray's test. Furthermore, five predictors of the Candiolo nomogram in our patients were evaluated by Fine and Gray regression hazards model. The higher the Candiolo risk, the worse the biochemical recurrence, especially in high- and very high-risk patients. Out of five predictors, age ≥70 years, cT3 stage, biopsy Gleason score ≥9 or the percentage of positive biopsy cores ≥50% had significant impacts on 10-year biochemical recurrence in our patients. The Candiolo nomogram can reclassify our high-risk prostate cancer patients treated with carbon-ion radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy and evaluate the biochemical recurrence preciously.

Carbon-ion radiotherapy for urological cancers.

Carbon-ions are charged particles with a high linear energy transfer, and therefore, they make a better dose distribution with greater biological effects on the tumors compared with photons and protons. Since prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and retroperitoneal sarcomas such as liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma are known to be radioresistant tumors, carbon-ion radiotherapy, which provides the advantageous radiobiological properties such as an increasing relative biological effectiveness toward the Bragg peak, a reduced oxygen enhancement ratio, and a reduced dependence on fractionation and cell-cycle stage, has been tested for these urological tumors at the National Institute for Radiological Sciences since 1994. To promote carbon-ion radiotherapy as a standard cancer therapy, the Japan Carbon-ion Radiation Oncology Study Group was established in 2015 to create a registry of all treated patients and conduct multi-institutional prospective studies in cooperation with all the Japanese institutes. Based on accumulating evidence of the efficacy and feasibility of carbon-ion therapy for prostate cancer and retroperitoneal sarcoma, it is now covered by the Japanese health insurance system. On the other hand, carbon-ion radiotherapy for renal cell cancer is not still covered by the insurance system, although the two previous studies showed the efficacy. In this review, we introduce the characteristics, clinical outcomes, and perspectives of carbon-ion radiotherapy and our efforts to disseminate the use of this new technology worldwide.

Why not de-intensification for uterine cervical cancer?

OBJECTIVE: The majority of uterine cervical cancer is known to be related to human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV-related tumors are known to be radio-sensitive. In the management of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, de-intensification of treatment has been attempted; however, no such attempt is performed in the management of cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to identify a group of patients who can safely be treated by de-escalated treatment intensity. METHODS: From the Asian international multi-institutional retrospective study involving 13 Japanese, one Thailand, and one Korean institutions based on 469 patients, squamous cell carcinoma (Scc), tumor reduction ratio ≥29%, tumor size before brachytherapy ≤4 cm, and total treatment time (TTT) <9 weeks were identified as factors having an influence on local control. Based on these findings, low-risk patients having these four factors were extracted, and treatment outcomes categorized in 10 Gy increment of CTVHR D90 were compared. RESULTS: Among 469 patients, 162 patients (34.5%) met the criteria of low-risk group, and 63, 41, 43, and 15 patients were categorized in CTVHR D90 50-60 Gy, 60-70 Gy, 70-80 Gy, and >80 Gy, respectively. While 4-y progression-free survival ranged from 66 to 80%, 4-y local control was consistently over 90% in every dose group. Rectum and bladder D2cc and incidence of late adverse events decreased as CTVHR D90 decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The low-risk patients achieved favorable local control with CTVHR D90 <80 Gy. A personalized treatment strategy based on tumor response could also be adopted for cervical cancer.

Updated Clinical Outcomes of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Using Myeloablative Total Body Irradiation with Ovarian Shielding to Preserve Fertility.

Myeloablative conditioning regimens are associated with severe gonadal toxicity. To preserve ovarian function, we have been investigating ovarian shielding during total body irradiation (TBI) with a myeloablative dose. In this report, we update the clinical outcomes. Female patients with standard-risk hematologic diseases, aged 40 years or younger, who desired to have children, were included (n = 19). The conditioning regimen consisted of TBI at 12 Gy with ovarian shielding and cyclophosphamide (120 mg/kg) or cytarabine (24 g/m2). Ovarian shielding reduced the actual irradiation dose applied to the ovaries from 12 Gy to 2 to 3 Gy. The median age at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was 24 years (range, 19 to 33 years). With a median follow-up period of 1449 days (range, 64 to 3694) after HSCT, 5-year overall survival and 1- and 5-year relapse rates were 67%, 17%, and 31%, respectively. Only 2 of 14 patients with acute myeloid or lymphoid leukemia in remission have relapsed thus far. The 6-month and 1-year cumulative rates of menstrual recovery were 42% and 78%, respectively. In all patients with menstrual recovery, menstruation recovered within 1 year. The serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level tended to gradually increase after menstrual recovery. Three patients with extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease experienced delayed recovery of menstruation and serum AMH. Five pregnancies in 3 patients resulted in normal delivery in 1, selective cesarean operation in 1, current pregnancy in 1, and natural abortion in 2. These results suggest that a myeloablative TBI regimen with ovarian shielding could preserve fertility after HSCT without an apparent increase in relapse in standard-risk patients. Because serum AMH recovered gradually over time, the AMH level during the early phase after HSCT may have little value as a marker of ovarian reserve.

Radiotherapy for vaginal cancer: a multi-institutional survey study of the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to assess the patterns of practice and treatment outcomes of definitive radiotherapy (RT) for vaginal cancer in Japan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RT methods and outcomes of patients with vaginal cancer treated with definitive RT or chemoradiotherapy at 10 institutes of the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group between January 2000 and March 2010 were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 90 patients were enrolled in the study. The clinical stages were I, II, III, and IVA in 34, 36, 16, and 4 patients, respectively. Seventy patients were treated with three-dimensional conformal RT (3DCRT) and brachytherapy (BT), 12 with BT alone, and 8 with 3DCRT alone. Chemotherapy was administered to 29 patients. The 5-year overall survival and local control rates were 77 and 83% with a median follow-up period of 94 months for surviving or lost patients. The 5-year overall survival rates according to stage were 94, 71, 56, and 75% for stages I, II, III, and IVA, respectively. The 5-year local control rates according to stage were 94, 77, 74, and 75% for stages I, II, III, and IVA, respectively. Twenty-nine percent (6 of 21 patients) of local recurrences occurred between 5 and 10 years after RT. The 10-year local control rate of all patients was 71%. Significant prognostic factors for overall survival by univariate and multi-variate analyses were performance status, tumor size, and pelvic lymph node metastasis. Grade 3 late radiation morbidity of the rectum, pelvic bone, urinary bladder, and skin developed in 9% (8 of 90 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Good outcomes similar to those of cervical cancer can be achieved with definitive RT delivered by 3DCRT and/or BT for vaginal cancer. Long follow-up is necessary for a continuing risk of local recurrence after 5 years.

The prognostic value of rectal invasion for stage IVA uterine cervical cancer treated with radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of rectal invasion is still unclear in stage IVA cervical cancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate patient outcome and prognostic factors in stage IVA cervical cancer treated with radiation therapy. METHODS: A retrospective review of the medical records of patients treated with definitive photon radiation therapy for pathologically proven stage IVA cervical cancer between 1980 and 2010 was performed. Eligible patients for the present study were diagnosed with clinical stage IVA cervical cancer by cystoscopy or/and proctoscopy, and they received definitive radiation therapy consisting of a combination of external beam radiotherapy and high-dose-rate brachytherapy. All patients underwent CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis. RESULTS: Among the 67 stage IVA patients studied, 53 patients were stage IVA on the basis of bladder invasion, 7 according to rectal mucosal invasion, and 7 because of both bladder and rectal mucosal invasion. Median follow-up of all patients and surviving patients was 19 months (range, 2-235 months) and 114 months (range, 14-223 months), respectively. The 5-year local control (LC), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) rate were 55, 17, and 24%, respectively. Rectal invasion had significant impact on DFS, but bladder invasion had the opposite effect (p = 0.00006 and 0.005, respectively). There were significant differences of LC, DFS and OS rates between patients with and without rectal invasion (p = 0.006, 0.00006 and 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with stage IVA cervical cancer had poor prognosis, with 5-year survival of only 24%. Furthermore, in stage IVA, rectal invasion might be a worse prognostic factor than bladder invasion.

Phase II study of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly cisplatin and paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced uterine cervical cancer: The JACCRO GY-01 trial.

OBJECTIVE: A multicenter phase II trial was conducted to assess the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with weekly cisplatin (CDDP) and paclitaxel (PTX) in patients with locally advanced uterine cervical cancer. METHODS: Patients with FIGO stage III-IVA uterine cervical cancer without para-aortic lymphadenopathy were enrolled. Patients received definitive radiotherapy (RT) consisting of external beam whole-pelvic RT and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy. The cumulative linear quadratic equivalent dose was 62-65Gy prescribed at point A. weekly CDDP at 30mg/m(2) and PTX at 50mg/m(2) were administered concurrently with RT for ≥5 courses. RESULTS: Sixty-eight of the 70 registered patients were eligible. The complete response rate was 76.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 66.4-86.6%). With a median follow-up of 27months (range, 7.9-33.5), the 2-year cumulative progression-free survival and the 2-year cumulative overall survival rates were 83.8% (95% CI, 75.1-92.6%) and 92.7% (95% CI, 86.4-98.9%), respectively. The pelvic cumulative disease progression-free and the 2-year cumulative distant metastasis rates were 89.6% (95% CI, 82.3-96.9%) and 13.2% (95% CI, 5.2-21.3%), respectively. The 2-year cumulative late complication rates were 25% for all grades, 13.2% for grade 1, 5.9% for grade 2, 2.9% for grade 3, and 2.9% for grade 4. CONCLUSIONS: For locally advanced cervical cancer, CCRT with weekly CDDP 30mg/m(2) and PTX at 50mg/m(2) demonstrated favorable antitumor activity, and was feasible and safe with respect to the protocol-specified serious adverse reactions and events. Evaluation of this regimen in phase III trials is warranted.

Clinical outcomes of carbon ion radiotherapy for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix in phase 1/2 clinical trial (protocol 9704).

BACKGROUND: This study sought to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix in a phase 1/2 clinical trial. METHODS: The treatment consisted of whole-pelvic irradiation of 36.0 gray equivalents (GyE) in 12 fractions and local boost with dose escalation from 26.4 to 38.4 GyE in 8 fractions. The dose escalation was performed with careful observation of acute normal tissue responses. Total dose to the cervical tumor was 62.4 to 74.4 GyE in 20 fractions. RESULTS: Between April 1998 and February 2010, 58 patients were treated with C-ion RT in this clinical trial. The number of patients with stage IIB, IIIB, and IVA disease were 20, 35, and 3, respectively. Median tumor size was 5.5 cm (range, 3.0-11.8 cm). Twenty-seven patients had pelvic lymph node metastases. The median follow-up period was 38 months. All patients completed the treatment schedule. Grade 2 or higher late toxicity was found in 8 patients: 5 with bladder and 2 with small intestine grade 2 toxicities, and 1 patient had grade 4 rectal complication, which was surgically salvaged. The 5-year local control rate, local control rate including salvage surgery, and overall survival rate in all cases were 54.5%, 68.2%, and 38.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Dose escalation of C-ion RT for adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix was accomplished without severe toxicities except in 1 case. Although the number of patients in this study was small, the results support continued investigation and analysis to confirm therapeutic efficacy.

Dose-escalation study of carbon ion radiotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (9902).

OBJECTIVE: The authors performed phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. METHODS: Between April 2000 and January 2006, 22 patients for Protocol 9902 were treated with C-ion RT. The number of patients with stage IIB, IIIB, and IVA diseases was 1, 18, and 3, respectively. All patients had bulky tumors measuring 4.0-12.0 cm (median 6.2 cm). The whole pelvic dose was fixed at 39.0 GyE for 13 fractions, and additional 15.0 GyE for 5 fractions was given to the gross tumor volume (GTV) and surrounding tissues. With regard to local boost, a dose-escalation study was planned for 2 fractions to GTV. Total dose to the cervical tumor was 64.0-72.0 GyE for 20 fractions. RESULTS: All patients completed the scheduled therapy and no patient developed Grade 2 or higher acute toxicity. There was no Grade 3 or higher late complications at each dose. The 5-year overall survival rate and local control rate were 50.0% and 68.2%, respectively. Seven out of the 16 patients who received 64.0-68.0 GyE developed local recurrences, but all patients who received 72.0 GyE maintained local control. CONCLUSIONS: There were no severe acute or late complications in this trial. C-ion RT has the potential to improve the treatment for locally advanced bulky cervical cancer by applying a total dose of 72.0 GyE, with the results lending incentive to further investigations to confirm the therapeutic efficacy.

Health-related quality of life after carbon-ion radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a 3-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess 3-year health-related quality of life of patients treated with carbon ion radiotherapy for prostate cancer. METHODS: A total of 213 patients received carbon-ion radiotherapy at a total dose of 66 Gy equivalent in 20 fractions over 5 weeks, and neoadjuvant and adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy were administered for high-risk patients for at least 12 months. A health-related quality of life assessment was carried out at four time-points (immediately before the initiation of carbon-ion radiotherapy, immediately after, 12 and 36 months after completion of carbon-ion radiotherapy) using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General and for Prostate Cancer Patients. RESULTS: The evaluable response rates among all responses were more than 94%. Overall, a significant decrease in the scores of the health-related quality of life 12 months after carbon-ion radiotherapy returned to their baseline levels at 36 months. Additionally, no significant decrease was observed in the scores at any of the assessment time-points compared with their baseline scores in the group of carbon-ion radiotherapy without androgen deprivation therapy; however, the presence of morbidity and biochemical failure significantly worsened the scores, and the decreases in the scores did not improve even at 36 months after carbon-ion radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: An assessment based on a subjective scoring system shows a significant decrease in health-related quality of life at 12 months after carbon-ion radiation therapy, which tends to return to baseline levels at 36 months. The presence of morbidity and biochemical failure significantly worsen health-related quality of life scores. Further controlled studies focusing on health-related quality of life assessment in patients with prostate cancer are warranted.

Recent developments in the field of radiotherapy for the management of lung cancer.

Lung cancer has a poor prognosis, and further improvements in outcomes are needed. Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of unresectable lung cancer, and there have been recent developments in the field of radiotherapy for the management of lung cancer. However, to date, there have been few reviews on the improvement in treatment outcomes associated with high precision radiotherapy for lung cancer. Thus, this review aimed to summarize the recent developments in radiotherapy techniques and indicate the future directions in the use of radiotherapy for lung cancer. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for unresectable stage I lung cancer has been reported to improve local control rates without severe adverse events, such as radiation pneumonitis. For locally advanced lung cancer, a combination of chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors dramatically improves treatment outcomes, and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) enables safer radiation therapy with less frequent pneumonitis. Particle beam therapy, such as carbon-ion radiotherapy and proton beam therapy, has been administered as advanced medical care for patients with lung cancer. Since 2024, it has been covered under insurance for early stage lung cancer with tumors ≤ 5 cm in size in Japan. In addition to chemotherapy, local ablative radiotherapy improves treatment outcomes in patients with oligometastatic stage IV lung cancer. A particular problem with radiotherapy for lung cancer is that the target location changes with respiratory motion, and various physical methods have been used to control respiratory motion. Recently, coronavirus disease has had a major impact on lung cancer treatment, and cancer treatment during situations, such as the coronavirus pandemic, must be performed carefully. To improve treatment outcomes for lung cancer, it is necessary to fully utilize evolving radiotherapy modalities, and the role of radiotherapy in lung cancer treatment is expected to increase.