High dose proton and photon-based radiation therapy for 213 liver lesions: a multi-institutional dosimetric comparison with a clinical perspective.

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and Proton therapy (PT) are both options in the management of liver lesions. Limited clinical-dosimetric comparison are available. Moreover, dose-constraint routinely used in liver PT and SRT considers only the liver spared, while optimization strategies to limit the liver damaged are poorly reported. METHODS: Primary endpoint was to assess and compare liver sparing of four contemporary RT techniques. Secondary endpoints were freedom from local recurrence (FFLR), overall survival (OS), acute and late toxicity. We hypothesize that Focal Liver Reaction (FLR) is determined by a similar biologic dose. FLR was delineated on follow-up MRI. Mean C.I. was computed for all the schedules used. A so-called Fall-off Volume (FOV) was defined as the area of healthy liver (liver-PTV) receiving more than the isotoxic dose. Fall-off Volume Ratio (FOVR) was defined as ratio between FOV and PTV. RESULTS: 213 lesions were identified. Mean best fitting isodose (isotoxic doses) for FLR were 18Gy, 21.5 Gy and 28.5 Gy for 3, 5 and 15 fractions. Among photons, an advantage in terms of healthy liver sparing was found for Vmat FFF with 5mm jaws (p = 0.013) and Cyberknife (p = 0.03). FOV and FOVR resulted lower for PT (p < 0.001). Three years FFLR resulted 83%. Classic Radiation induced liver disease (RILD, any grade) affected 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Cyberknife and V-MAT FFF with 5mm jaws spare more liver than V-MAT FF with 10 mm jaws. PT spare more liver compared to photons. FOV and FOVR allows a quantitative analysis of healthy tissue sparing performance showing also the quality of plan in terms of dose fall-off.

Non-metastatic ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate: pattern of care from an uro-oncology multidisciplinary group.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively review our 20 year experience of multidisciplinary management of non-metastatic ductal prostate cancer (dPC), a rare but aggressive histological subtype of prostate cancer whose optimal therapeutic approach is still controversial. METHODS: Histologically confirmed dPC patients undergoing primary, curative treatment [radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)] were included, and percentage of ductal and acinar pattern within prostate samples were derived. Survival outcomes were assessed using the subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) and Fine-and-Gray model. RESULTS: From January 1997 to December 2016, 81 non-metastatic dPC fitted selection criteria. Compared to surgery alone, SHR for progression-free survival and cancer-specific mortality were 2.8 (95% CI 0.6-13.3) and 1.3 (95% CI 0.1-16.2) for exclusive EBRT, 2.7 (95% CI 0.6-13.0) and 6.5 (95% CI 0.6-69.8) for adjuvant EBRT, 4.9 (95% CI 0.7-35.5) and 5.8 (95% CI 0.5-65.6) for salvage EBRT post-prostatectomy recurrence, and 3.2 (95% CI 0.7-14.0) and 3.9 (95% CI 0.3-44.1) for primary ADT (P = 0.558; P = 0.181), respectively. Comparing multimodal treatment and monotherapy confirmed the above trends. Local recurrence more typically occurred in pure dPC patients, mixed histology more frequently produced metastatic spread (29.6% relapse in total, P = 0.026). CONCLUSION: Albeit some limitations affected the study, our findings support the role of local treatment to achieve better disease control and improve quality of life. Different behavior, with typical local growth in pure dPC, higher distant metastatization in the mixed form, might influence treatment response. Given its poor prognosis, we recommend multidisciplinary management of dPC.

How radical prostatectomy procedures have changed over the last 10 years in Italy: a comparative analysis based on more than 1500 patients participating in the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA and the Pros-IT CNR study.

PURPOSE: Therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer (PCa) have been evolving dramatically worldwide. The current article reports on the evolution of surgical management strategies for PCa in Italy. METHODS: The data from two independent Italian multicenter projects, the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA (started in 2007, holding data of 890 patients) and the Pros-IT-CNR project (started in 2014, with data of 692 patients), were compared. Differences in patients' characteristics were evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with robot-assisted (RA) procedure, nerve sparing (NS) approach, and lymph node dissection (LND). RESULTS: The two cohorts did not differ in terms of age and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels at biopsy. Patients enrolled in the Pros-IT-CNR project more frequently were submitted to RA (58.8% vs 27.6%, p < 0.001) and NS prostatectomy (58.4% vs. 52.9%, p = 0.04), but received LND less frequently (47.7% vs. 76.7%, p < 0.001), as compared to the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA patients. At multivariate logistic models, Lower Gleason Scores (GS) and PSA levels were significantly associated with RA prostatectomy in both cohorts. As for the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA data, clinical T-stage was a predictor for NS (OR = 0.07 for T3, T4) and LND (OR = 2.41 for T2) procedures. As for Pros-IT CNR data, GS ≥ (4 + 3) and positive cancer cores ≥ 50% were decisive factors both for NS (OR 0.29 and 0.30) and LND (OR 7.53 and 2.31) strategies. CONCLUSIONS: PCa management has changed over the last decade in Italian centers: RA and NS procedures without LND have become the methods of choice to treat newly medium-high risk diagnosed PCa.

Disease course of lung oligometastatic colorectal cancer treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) has been shown to increase survival rates in oligometastatic disease (OMD), but local control of colorectal metastases remains poor. We aimed to explore the natural course of oligometastatic colorectal cancer and to investigate how SBRT of lung metastases can delay the progression to polymetastatic disease (PMD). METHODS: 107 lung oligometastases in 38 patients were treated with SBRT at a single institution. The median number of treated lesions was 2 (range 1-5). Time to PMD (ttPMD) was defined as the time from SBRT to the occurrence of >5 new metastases. Genetic biomarkers such as EGFR, KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, and microsatellite instability were investigated as predictive factors for response rates. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 28 months. At median follow-up, 7 patients were free from disease and 31 had progression: 18 patients had sequential oligometastatic disease (SOMD) and 13 polymetastatic progression. All SOMD cases received a second SBRT course. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months (range 4-9 months); median ttPMD was 25.8 months (range 12-39 months) with 1­ and 2­year PFS rates of 62.5% and 53.4%, respectively. 1­ and 2­year local PFS (LPFS) rates were 91.5% and 80%, respectively. At univariate analysis, BRAF wildtype correlated with better LPFS (p = 0.003), SOMD after primary SBRT was associated with longer cancer-specific survival (p = 0.031). Median overall survival (OS) was 39.5 months (range 26-64 months) and 2­year OS was 71.1%. CONCLUSION: The present results support local ablative treatment of lung metastases using SBRT in oligometastatic colorectal cancer patients, as it can delay the transition to PMD. Patients who progressed as SOMD maintained a survival advantage compared to those who developed PMD.

Post-HIFU locally relapsed prostate cancer: high-dose salvage radiotherapy guided by molecular imaging.

PURPOSE: To evaluate tolerance and biochemical control rates of salvage external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in patients with local relapse from prostate cancer (PC) after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) as primary treatment. METHODS: Twenty-four patients presented biochemical failure of PC. Salvage EBRT to the residual prostate was performed with moderate hypofractionation schedule (MHRT) in 28 fractions (n = 16) or with extreme hypofractionation schedule (SBRT) in 5 fractions (n = 8) by means of image-guided volumetric modulation arc therapy. In case of MHRT, the median dose was 71.4 Gy, whereas in case of SBRT it was 32.5 Gy. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 28 months. The median PSA nadir was 0.26 ng/mL. In case of MHRT, the median PSA nadir was 0.15 ng/mL and occurred within a median time of 19 months. In case of SBRT, the median PSA nadir was 0.64 ng/mL and occurred within a median time of 8 months. No G3 higher acute or late toxicity after EBRT was observed. Only three patients presented with G2 acute GI toxicity (actinic proctitis). Twelve patients experienced acute G1 GU toxicity: 8/16 of men treated with MHRT and 4/8 of men treated with SBRT. Complete local control of disease was achieved in 23/24 patients (96%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirm the feasibility and the low toxicity of salvage EBRT with both schedules of treatment after HIFU failure. The findings of low acute toxicity and good biochemical control rates are encouraging, but a larger number of patients and a longer follow-up are needed to confirm these results.

Functional profiles of curatively treated adenoid cystic carcinoma unveil prognostic features and potentially targetable pathways.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of salivary gland is a slowly growing tumor showing a propensity for delayed recurrence, with decreased survival rates. The identification of poor prognosis patients may help in defining molecular-based targeted strategies in this rare disease orphan of new treatments. Through a gene expression microarray-based approach followed by GSE functional analysis the expression profile of 46 primary untreated ACC samples and of ACC (h-TERT) tumor cells was analyzed. Patients who experienced early relapse showed enrichment in proliferation-related gene sets, including the G2-M checkpoint, E2F and myc targets, and in gene sets related to IFN signaling and aberrant proteostasis (FDR < 0.1), indicating increased mitotic and transcriptional activity in aggressive ACC. Similar functions were enriched in ACC samples classified by immunohistochemical staining as p63-negative, which exhibited increased protein burden and activation of pro-survival stress response pathways compared to p63-positive tumors. Compared to ACC tissues, ACC (h-TERT) cells share transcriptional features of aggressive p63-negative tumors. These data suggest association of specific pathway alterations with histopathological features of ACC, as recapitulated by p63 testing in patient prognostic stratification, anticipating new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer: could durvalumab be safe and effective in real-life clinical scenarios? Results of a single-center experience.

Introduction: The standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by consolidation durvalumab as shown in the PACIFIC trial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical outcomes and toxicities regarding the use of durvalumab in a real clinical scenario. Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted on patients with a diagnosis of unresectable stage III NSCLC who underwent radical CRT followed or not by durvalumab. Tumor response after CRT, pattern of relapse, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity profile were investigated. Results: Eighty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 67 years (range 45-82 years). Fifty-two patients (61.2%) started sequential therapy with durvalumab. The main reason for excluding patients from the durvalumab treatment was the expression of PD-L1 < 1%. Only two patients presented a grade 4 or 5 pneumonitis. A median follow-up (FU) of 20 months has been reached. Forty-five patients (52.9%) had disease progression, and 21 (24.7%) had a distant progression. The addition of maintenance immunotherapy confirmed a clinical benefit in terms of OS and PFS. Two-year OS and PFS were respectively 69.4% and 54.4% in the durvalumab group and 47.9% and 24.2% in the no-durvalumab group (p = 0.015, p = 0.007). Conclusion: In this real-world study, patients treated with CRT plus durvalumab showed clinical outcomes and toxicities similar to the PACIFIC results. Maintenance immunotherapy after CRT has been shown to be safe and has increased the survival of patients in clinical practice.

Treatment of loco-regional recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a non-endemic area: oncologic outcomes, morbidity, and proposal of a prognostic nomogram.

Introduction: The study assessed outcomes and toxicities of different treatment modalities for local and/or regional recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a non-endemic area. Methods: Patients treated with curative intent for recurrent NPC with salvage surgery, photon-based radiotherapy, proton therapy (PT), with or without chemotherapy, at different Italian referral centers between 1998 and 2020 were included. Adverse events and complications were classified according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Characteristics of the patients, tumors, treatments, and complications are presented along with uni- and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. A survival predictive nomogram is also provided. Results: A total of 140 patients treated from 1998 to 2020 were retrospectively assessed. Cases with lower age, comorbidity rate, stage, and shorter disease-free interval (DFI) preferentially underwent endoscopic surgery. More advanced cases underwent re-irradiation, fairly distributed between photon-based radiotherapy and PT. Age and DFI were independent factors influencing overall survival. No independent prognostic effect of treatment modality was observed. No significant difference in the morbidity profile of treatments was observed, with 40% of patients experiencing at least one adverse event classified as G3 or higher. Conclusion: Recurrent NPC in a non-endemic area has dissimilar aspects compared to its endemic counterpart, suggesting the need for further studies that can guide the choice of the best treatment modality.

Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective Mono-institutional Experience.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is an effective treatment for localized prostate cancer. However, is it not clear whether the addition of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to SRT is beneficial. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of a series of patients treated with SRT plus ADT for localized prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were treated with SRT with 42 Gy in 7 fractions with volumetric-modulated arc therapy plus Image Guided Radiotherapy (V-MAT IGRT) technique. ADT was administered to patients with intermediate unfavorable- and high-risk disease. Study endpoints were biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS), overall survival (OS), acute and late toxicity and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using international prostate cancer symptoms scale (IPSS) and international index of erectile function (IIEF). RESULTS: A total of 170 consecutive patients were identified, of which 49 (28.8%) with low-risk, 15 (8.8%) with favorable intermediate-risk 76 (44.7%) with unfavorable intermediate-risk and 30 (17.6%) with high-risk class. All patients of unfavorable intermediate- and high-risk groups were administered LHRH analogue concurrently to SRT and for at least 6 months. Patients with unfavorable intermediate- and high-risk presented a 5-year bDFS of 81.7% and 76.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: SRT consisting of 42 Gy in seven fractions with short-term ADT represents a safe and effective treatment for unfavorable intermediate and high risk prostate cancer. Our results support the need of high quality studies to test the efficacy of ADT combined with SRT for unfavorable intermediate- and high-risk localized prostate cancer.

Low-dose Lung Radiotherapy for COVID-19-related Pneumonia: Preliminary Results of the Italian Mono-institutional COLOR-19 Trial.

AIM: To evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of low-dose radiotherapy (LDRT) delivered to both lungs in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-immune-mediated pneumonia in the COLOR-19 study (NCT0437747). PATIENTS AND METHODS: From May 2020 to April 2021 at Brescia University Radiation Oncology Department, three patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia were treated with LDRT according to the COLOR-19 protocol. All patients were treated with a single fraction at the average prescription dose of 0.7 Gy to both lungs. RESULTS: Three patients were enrolled (two males and one female, aged 61-81 years) and underwent LDRT. Despite LDRT being safely performed without significant side-effects, two patients died (one 81-year-old male due to septic shock secondary to Escherichia coli infection and one 79-year-old male, already in poor condition, due to worsening of COVID-19). The remaining female patient (61 years old) underwent LDRT for less severe COVID-19: her clinical condition and chest X-ray improved, and she was discharged home completely asymptomatic 27 days after hospital admission. Blood levels of C-reactive protein and ferritin generally decreased after LDRT. CONCLUSION: Early results of the COLOR-19 study demonstrate the feasibility of LDRT for therapy of COVID-19-related pneumonia; no conclusions on the efficacy have been reached due to poor accrual.

Cytotoxic effects of targeted agent alone or with chemotherapy in the treatment of adenoid cystic carcinoma: a preclinical study.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy characterized by high incidence of relapse. When relapsing, ACC has an indolent but relentless behaviour, thus leading to a poor long-term prognosis. The treatment of choice of relapsing ACC remains surgery followed by radiotherapy, whenever feasible. Therapeutic weapons are limited to systemic drugs. The most widely used chemotherapy regimen is the combination of cisplatin and doxorubicin, however with low response rate and not long lasting; there is also a lack of alternatives for second line therapies in case of disease progression. Therefore, a more comprehensive strategy aimed at identifying at preclinical level the most promising drugs or combination is clearly needed. In this study, the cytotoxic effects of two standard chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin and doxorubicin, and of five targeted therapy-drugs was tested in vitro, on an h-TERT immortalized ACC cell line, and in vivo, on zebrafish embryos with ACC tumoral cell xenograft. Then, combinations of one standard chemotherapy drug plus one targeted therapy drug were also evaluated, in order to find the best treatment strategy for ACC. Data obtained demonstrated that both vorinostat and olaparib significantly increased the standard chemotherapy cytotoxic effects, suggesting new interesting therapeutic options for ACC.

Prevention and management of acute esophageal toxicity during concomitant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Standard treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is concomitant chemoradiotherapy. The survival benefit of combined treatment is partially counterbalanced by an increased rate of acute esophageal toxicity. Several pharmaceutical products are available for prevention and management of esophagitis, including Faringel Plus. AIM: To assess the incidence and the grade, identify the correlations with clinical, dosimetric, and therapeutic variables, and analyse the role of Faringel Plus as a pharmaceutical preventive measure against acute esophageal toxicity. METHODS: Patients with LA-NSCLC treated with concomitant radiochemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Acute esophagitis and dysphagia were graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Clinical, dosimetric, and therapeutic correlations were investigated using χ2 test. RESULTS: Among the 23 analysed patients, 18 (78.3%) and 1 (4.3%) developed G2 and G3 esophagitis, respectively; G1-2 dysphagia were reported in 11 cases (47.8%). No statistically significant correlation between the variables considered and acute esophageal toxicity was identified. In the group of patients who received Faringel Plus as preventive treatment (10 subjects, 43.5%), dysphagia presentation time was significantly longer (p = 0.038); esophagitis onset time was longer and symptoms duration was shorter. Faringel Plus allowed a reduction in the use of analgesic drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Acute mild esophageal toxicity was confirmed to be a common side effect in this setting. No clinical-dosimetric parameter has been demonstrated to be effective in predicting acute esophageal toxicity. The use of Faringel Plus appears effective as a therapeutic and prophylactic tool to manage acute esophageal toxicity.

RR Myelo POINT: A Retrospective Single-Center Study Assessing the Role of Radiotherapy in the Management of Multiple Myeloma and Possible Interactions with Concurrent Systemic Treatment.

Background and purpose: Although chemotherapy, biological agents, and radiotherapy (RT) are cornerstones of the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), the literature regarding the possible interactions of concurrent systemic treatment (CST) and RT is limited, and the optimal RT dose is still unclear. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of patients who underwent RT for MM at our institution from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2020. The data of 312 patients and 577 lesions (treated in 411 accesses) were retrieved. Results: Most of the treated lesions involved the vertebrae (60%) or extremities (18.9%). Radiotherapy was completed in 96.6% of the accesses and, although biologically effective doses assuming an α/ß ratio of 10 (BED 10) > 38 Gy and CST were significantly associated with higher rates of toxicity, the safety profile was excellent, with side effects grade ≥2 reported only for 4.1% of the accesses; CST and BED 10 had no impact on the toxicity at one and three months. Radiotherapy resulted in significant improvements in performance status and in a pain control rate of 87.4% at the end of treatment, which further increased to 96.9% at three months and remained at 94% at six months. The radiological response rate at six months (data available for 181 lesions) was 79%, with only 4.4% of lesions in progression. Progression was significantly more frequent in the lesions treated without CST or BED 10 < 15 Gy, while concurrent biological therapy resulted in significantly lower rates of progression. Conclusion: Radiotherapy resulted in optimal pain control rates and fair toxicity, regardless of BED 10 and CST; the treatments with higher BED 10 and CST (remarkably biological agents) improved the already excellent radiological disease control.

Baseline prognostic factors affecting survival in recurrent and/or metastatic salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) is a rare disease, with indolent behavior and poor long-term survival. Many studies have evaluated the role of clinical and pathological factors at presentation on the risk of recurrence. In this study we investigated whether baseline demographic, clinical, and pathological characteristics at the time of primary curative treatment could influence the prognosis of patients once local and/or distant recurrence occurred. METHODS: All patients affected by primary salivary gland AdCC and treated with curative surgery from January 1997 to June 2016 were reviewed, evaluating those who later developed loco-regional recurrence and/or distant metastasis. Time from the first relapse to death (recurrent/metastatic overall survival, RMOS) was considered the outcome of interest. RESULTS: Out of 87 surgically treated AdCC patients, 36 relapsing lesions were included. Median ages at first presentation and recurrence were 55 and 60-year-old, respectively; 58% were females. Median disease-free-interval (DFI) was 22.0 months. Five-year RMOS was 47%. At univariate analysis, age ≥ 60-year-old (HR:2.67, p = 0.030), primary tumor lympho-vascular invasion (LVI) (HR:5.38, p = 0.003), adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in the primary setting (HR:0.37, p = 0.043), and DFI < 30 months (HR:3.94, p = 0.008) significantly affected RMOS. Multivariable analysis confirmed the presence of LVI and shorter DFI as independent risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of baseline clinicopathological features is helpful in the prognostic stratification of patients with recurrent AdCC, with LVI as the most relevant baseline factor. Adjuvant RT demonstrated its protective role on survival even once recurrence occurred, further supporting its adoption in the primary setting.

Hyperactive Akt1 Signaling Increases Tumor Progression and DNA Repair in Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma RD Line and Confers Susceptibility to Glycolysis and Mevalonate Pathway Inhibitors.

In pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), elevated Akt signaling is associated with increased malignancy. Here, we report that expression of a constitutively active, myristoylated form of Akt1 (myrAkt1) in human RMS RD cells led to hyperactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K) pathway, resulting in the loss of both MyoD and myogenic capacity, and an increase of Ki67 expression due to high cell mitosis. MyrAkt1 signaling increased migratory and invasive cell traits, as detected by wound healing, zymography, and xenograft zebrafish assays, and promoted repair of DNA damage after radiotherapy and doxorubicin treatments, as revealed by nuclear detection of phosphorylated H2A histone family member X (γH2AX) through activation of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). Treatment with synthetic inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt was sufficient to completely revert the aggressive cell phenotype, while the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin failed to block cell dissemination. Furthermore, we found that pronounced Akt1 signaling increased the susceptibility to cell apoptosis after treatments with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and lovastatin, enzymatic inhibitors of hexokinase, and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), especially in combination with radiotherapy and doxorubicin. In conclusion, these data suggest that restriction of glucose metabolism and the mevalonate pathway, in combination with standard therapy, may increase therapy success in RMS tumors characterized by a dysregulated Akt signaling.

Anal squamous cell carcinoma: Impact of radiochemotherapy evolution over years and an explorative analysis of MRI prediction of tumor response in a mono-institutional series of 131 patients.

Introduction: Radiochemotherapy (RCHT) for the treatment of anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) has evolved dramatically, also thanks to intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) and 3D image guidance (3D IGRT). Despite most patients presenting fair outcomes, unmet needs still exist. Predictors of poor tumor response are lacking; acute toxicity remains challenging; and local relapse remains the main pattern of failure. Patients and methods: Between 2010 and 2020, ASCC stages I-III treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy or IMRT and CDDP-5FU or Mytomicine-5FU CHT were identified. Image guidance accepted included 2D IGRT or 3D IGRT. The study endpoints included freedom from locoregional recurrence (FFLR), colostomy free survival (CFS), freedom from distant metastasis (FFDM), overall survival (OS), and acute and late toxicity as measured by common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) version 5.0. An exploratory analysis was performed to identify possible radiomic predictors of tumor response. Feature extraction and data analysis were performed in Python™, while other statistics were performed using SPSS® v.26.0 software (IBM®). Results: A total of 131 patients were identified. After a median FU of 52 months, 83 patients (63.4%) were alive. A total of 35 patients (26.7%) experienced locoregional failure, while 31 patients (23.7%) relapsed with distant metastasis. Five year FFLR, CFS, DMFS and PS resulted 72.3%, 80.1%, 74.5% and 64.6%. In multivariate analysis, 2D IGRT was associated with poorer FFLR, OS, and CFS (HR 4.5, 4.1, and 5.6, respectively); 3DcRT was associated with poorer OS and CFS (HR 3.1 and 6.6, respectively). IMRT reduced severe acute gastro-intestinal (GI) and severe skin acute toxicity in comparison with 3DcRT. In the exploratory analysis, the risk of relapse depended on a combination of three parameters: Total Energy, Gray Level Size Zone Matrix's Large Area High Gray Level Emphasis (GLSZM's LAHGLE), and GTV volume. Conclusions: Advances in radiotherapy have independently improved the prognosis of ASCC patients over years while decreasing acute GI and skin toxicity. IMRT and daily 3D image guidance may be considered standard of care in the management of ASCC. A combination of three pre-treatment MRI parameters such as low signal intensity (SI), high GLSZM's LAHGLE, and GTV volume could be integrated in risk stratification to identify candidates for RT dose-escalation to be enrolled in clinical trials.

Stereotactic prostate radiotherapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy, study protocol for a phase III, multi-institutional randomized-controlled trial.

Objective: The therapeutic landscape for localized prostate cancer (PC) is evolving. Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) has been reported to be at least not inferior to standard radiotherapy, but the effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in this setting is still unknown and its use is left to clinical judgment. There is therefore the need to clarify the role of ADT in association with SRT, which is the aim of the present study. Methods: We present a study protocol for a randomized, multi-institutional, Phase III clinical trial, designed to study SRT in unfavorable intermediate and a subclass of high-risk localized PC. Patients (pts) will be randomized 1:1 to SRT + ADT or SRT alone. SRT will consists in 36.25 Gy in 5 fractions, ADT will be a single administration of Triptorelin 22.5 mg concurrent to SRT. Primary end point will be biochemical disease-free survival. Secondary end points will be disease-free survival, freedom from local recurrence, freedom from regional recurrence, freedom from distant metastasis and overall survival (OS); quality of life QoL and patient reported outcomes will be an exploratory end point and will be scored with EPIC-26, EORTC PR 25, IPSS, IIEF questionnaires in SRT + ADT and SRT alone arms. Moreover, clinician reported acute and late toxicity, assessed with CTCAE v. 5.0 scales will be safety end points. Results: Sample size is estimated of 310 pts. For acute toxicity and quality of life results are awaited after 6 months since last patient in, whereas, for efficacy end points and late toxicity mature results will be available 3-5 years after last patient in. Conclusion: Evidence is insufficient to guide decision making concerning ADT administration in the new scenario of prostate ultra-hypofractionation. Hence, the need to investigate the ADT role in SRT specific setting. Advances in knowledge: The stereotactic prostate radiotherapy with or without ADT trial (SPA Trial) has been designed to establish a new standard of care for SRT in localized unfavorable intermediate and a subclass of localized high risk PC.

Three weekly versus weekly concurrent cisplatin: safety propensity score analysis on 166 head and neck cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Radio-chemotherapy with CDDP is the standard for H&N squamous cell cancer. CDDP 100 mg/m2/q3 is the standard; alternative schedules are used to reduce toxicity, mostly 40 mg/m2/q1. METHODS: Patients were treated from 1/2010 to 1/2017 in two Radiation Oncology Centres. Propensity score analysis (PS) was retrospectively used to compare these two schedules. RESULTS: Patients analyzed were 166. Most (114/166) had 1w-CDDP while 52 had 3w-CDDP. In the 3w-CDDP group, patients were younger, with better performance status, smaller disease extent and a more common nodal involvement than in the 1w-CDDP. Acute toxicity was similar in the groups. Treatment compliance was lower in the w-CCDP. Overall survival before PS was better for female, for oropharyngeal disease and for 3w-CDDP group. After PS, survival was not related to the CDDP schedule. CONCLUSIONS: 3w-CDDP remains the standard for fit patients, weekly schedule could be safely used in selected patients.

Upfront metastasis-directed therapy in oligorecurrent prostate cancer does not decrease the time from initiation of androgen deprivation therapy to castration resistance.

The aim of the present study was to explore the potential impact of upfront metastases-directed therapy (MDT) in terms of prolongation of castration-sensitive phase in a series of oligorecurrent castration-sensitive prostate cancer (PC) patients. The present article is a multicenter retrospective study. The population of interest was castrate-sensitive oligorecurrent PC, defined as the presence of 1-3 uptakes in non-visceral sites such as bones or nodes detected by means of 18F-Choline PET/CT or 68-Gallium PSMA PET/CT. Primary endpoint was the time to castration resistance. Secondary endpoints were ADT-free survival, local progression-free survival, and overall survival. Eighty-two patients and 118 lesions were analyzed. The median time to castration resistance for the entire population of the study was 49 months (95% CI 43.6-54.4 months). The 1- and 2-year TTCR-free survival rates were 94% and 82%, respectively. At the time of analysis, 52 patients were still in the castration-sensitive phase of the disease. In this cohort of patients, the median ADT-free survival was 20 months (range 3-69 months). On the other hand, during follow-up 30 patients switched to the castration-resistant phase of disease. In this last group of patients, the median ADT-free survival was 20 months (range 4-50 months). After the ADT administration, the median castration-sensitive phase was 29 months (range 5-71 months). Castration resistance generally occurs at a median follow-up of 24-36 months following ADT. In the current study, upfront MDT does not decrease the time from initiation of ADT to castration resistance.