Single-Fraction Palliative High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy for Symptom Management in a 97-Year-Old Patient With Dementia.

Background: Delivering cancer treatment to elderly patients with dementia is often challenging. We describe performing palliative surface mold brachytherapy (SMBT) in an elderly patient with advanced dementia for pain control using music therapy to assist with agitation. Case Description: The patient was a 97-year-old Japanese woman with advanced dementia. Exudate was observed from her tumor, and she complained of Grade 2 severity pain using Support team assessment schedule (STAS), especially when undergoing would dressings. Given her advanced dementia, she was not considered a candidate for radical surgery or external beam radiotherapy. We instead treated her with high-dose-rate (HDR) SMBT. Due to her advanced dementia associated with agitation, she could not maintain her position. She was able to remain calm while listening to traditional Japanese enka music, which enables our team to complete her radiation without using anesthetics or sedating analgesics. Her localized pain severity decreased ≤21 days and the exudate fluid disappeared ≤63 days after HDR-SMBT. Her tumor was locally controlled until her death from intercurrent disease 1 year after HDR-SMBT. Discussion: Single fraction palliative HDR-SMBT was useful for successful treatment of skin cancer in an elderly patient. Traditional Japanese music helped reduce her agitation to complete HDR-SMBT. For elderly patients with agitation associated with dementia, we should consider using music and music therapy to facilitate radiation therapy.

Clinical outcome of adjuvant radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the breast; a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Because primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast is a rare disease, the standard therapy has not been established. We examined the clinical outcomes of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy for breast SCC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Patients diagnosed with primary breast SCC who received adjuvant radiotherapy as part of their primary definitive treatment were included. Overall survival (OS), breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS), and recurrence-free interval (RFi) were evaluated. RESULTS: Between January 2002 and December 2017, 25 breast SCC patients received adjuvant radiotherapy as a primary treatment were included. Median follow-up time was 43.5 months. Three (12%), fifteen (60%) and seven (28%) patients had clinical stage I, II and III disease, respectively. Fourteen patients underwent breast-conserving surgery and subsequent adjuvant radiotherapy. Eleven patients underwent mastectomy and post-mastectomy radiotherapy. Ten patients received regional lymph node irradiation. Nine (36%) patients had disease recurrence. The first site of recurrence was locoregional in five, but distant metastasis arose in one. Concurrent local and distant metastasis were seen in two. Six cases of local recurrence occurred within the irradiated site. Seven patients died, and six of the deaths were due to breast cancer. Five-year OS, BCSS, and Rfi were 69%, 70%, and 63%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, age and lymphatic invasion were associated with increased risk of recurrence. CONCLUSION: Breast SCC has a high incidence of locoregional recurrence and poor prognosis. Age and lymphatic invasion are significant risk factors for recurrence.

The Japanese Breast Cancer Society Clinical Practice Guideline for radiation treatment of breast cancer, 2018 edition.

PURPOSE: The Japanese Breast Cancer Society (JBCS) Clinical Practice Guideline was revised in 2018. This article describes the revise points in the section on radiation therapy (RT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: The JBCS formed task force to update the JBCS Clinical Practice Guideline 2015 edition. Background questions (BQs) deal with standard treatments of breast cancer in clinical practice. Clinical questions (CQs) highlight the important treatments in which controversy remains. The task force for RT section addressed the 10 BQs, the 10 CQs, and the 4 Future reseach questions (FQs). For each CQ, systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses were conducted, and recommendations, strength of recommendation and strength of evidence were determined according to the protocol in Morizane et al. (Minds Handbook for Clinical Practice Guideline Development, 2014). RESULTS: The recommendations, the strength of recommendation and the strength of evidence were determined based on the systematic literature reviews and the meta-analyses for each CQ. CONCLUSION: The JBCS updated the Clinical Practice Guideline. RT represents a significant portion of the breast cancer treatment, and these recommendations regarding RT will be useful in individualized, shared decision making between physicians and patients.

Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with stage II-III breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and postmastectomy radiation therapy in the modern treatment era.

PURPOSE: There are no randomized studies on the indication for postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) in patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by a mastectomy. The aim of this study was to determine clinical outcomes and identify reliable prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced breast cancer treated with NAC followed by a mastectomy and PMRT. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between clinicopathological factors and outcomes in 351 patients with stage II or III breast cancer who underwent NAC followed by radical mastectomy and PMRT between March 2005 and December 2013. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 81 months (Range, 12-156 months). For all patients, the 5-year locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) rates were 91.3 %, 69.8 %, and 83.4 %, respectively. On multivariate analysis, estrogen-receptor positivity, and complete response of cancer in axillary nodes (ypN0) were significant prognostic factors for better LRFS, while lympho-vascular invasion and clinical stage IIIC were independent prognostic factors for worse LRFS. The number of axillary node metastasesafter surgery was an independent prognostic factor of DMFS and OS. Patients with hormone receptor- and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positivity had significantly better 5-year LRFS rates. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several prognostic factors in our study. In particular, the number of axillary node metastases is significantly related to OS.

Are there high-risk subgroups for isolated locoregional failure in patients who had T1/2 breast cancer with one to three positive lymph nodes and received mastectomy without radiotherapy?

BACKGROUND: To define the factors associated with increased risk of isolated locoregional failure that may justify postmastectomy radiotherapy in patients with T1/2 breast cancer and 1-3 positive lymph nodes. METHODS: Between 1990 and 2002, 248 patients who had pT1-2 breast cancer and 1-3 positive lymph nodes were treated with mastectomy without radiotherapy (age 32-84, median 54). RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 82 months (range 2-189 months). For all patients, the 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rate was 95 %. In univariate analysis, hormone receptor status and administration of hormone therapy were statistically significant factors, and vascular invasion was the borderline significant factor for isolated locoregional failure-free rates (P = 0.0377, 0.0181, and 0.0555, respectively). The 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rates were 98 % for patients with positive hormone receptor status and 90 % for patients with negative hormone receptor status, 97 % for patients who received hormone therapy and 89 % for patients who did not receive hormone therapy, 92 % for patients with vascular invasion and 97 % for patients without vascular invasion. In multivariate analysis for hormone receptor status and vascular invasion, the former was statistically significant (P = 0.0491) and the latter was borderline significant (P = 0.0664). When patients had both negative hormone receptor and positive vascular invasion status, the 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rates decreased to 83 %. CONCLUSIONS: With regard to patients who had pT1/2 breast cancer and 1-3 positive lymph nodes, isolated locoregional failure was not common in general; however, patients who had both negative hormone receptor status and vascular invasion were comparatively high-risk patients for isolated locoregional failure.

Volume-based parameters of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography improve disease recurrence prediction in postmastectomy breast cancer patients with 1 to 3 positive axillary lymph nodes.

PURPOSE: To determine whether volume-based parameters on pretreatment (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in breast cancer patients treated with mastectomy without adjuvant radiation therapy are predictive of recurrence. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively analyzed 93 patients with 1 to 3 positive axillary nodes after surgery, who were studied with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography for initial staging. We evaluated the relationship between positron emission tomography parameters, including the maximum standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 45 months. Recurrence was observed in 11 patients. Metabolic tumor volume and TLG were significantly related to tumor size, number of involved nodes, nodal ratio, nuclear grade, estrogen receptor (ER) status, and triple negativity (TN) (all P values were <.05). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, MTV and TLG showed better predictive performance than tumor size, ER status, or TN (area under the curve: 0.85, 0.86, 0.79, 0.74, and 0.74, respectively). On multivariate analysis, MTV was an independent prognostic factor of locoregional recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio 34.42, 95% confidence interval 3.94-882.71, P=.0008) and disease-free survival (DFS) (hazard ratio 13.92, 95% confidence interval 2.65-103.78, P=.0018). The 3-year DFS rate was 93.8% for the lower MTV group (<53.1; n=85) and 25.0% for the higher MTV group (≥53.1; n=8; P<.0001, log-rank test). The 3-year DFS rate for patients with both ER-positive status and MTV<53.1 was 98.2%; and for those with ER-negative status and MTV≥53.1 it was 25.0% (P<.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Volume-based parameters improve recurrence prediction in postmastectomy breast cancer patients with 1 to 3 positive nodes. The addition of MTV to ER status or TN has potential benefits to identify a subgroup at higher risk for recurrence.

Differentiation of tumor recurrence from radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis after stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for lung cancer: characterization of 18F-FDG PET/CT findings.

OBJECTIVE: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), also known as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), is now a standard treatment option for patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer or oligometastatic lung tumor who are medically inoperable or medically operable but refuse surgery. When mass-like consolidation is observed on follow-up CT after SABR, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate tumor recurrence from SABR-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, we evaluated the role of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in differentiating tumor recurrence from radiation fibrosis after SABR. METHODS: Between June 2006 and June 2009, 130 patients received SABR for stage I non-small cell lung cancer or metastatic lung cancer at our institution. Fifty-nine patients of them were imaged with FDG-PET/CT after SABR. There were a total of 137 FDG-PET/CT scans for retrospective analysis. The FDG uptake in the pulmonary region was assessed qualitatively using a 3-point scale (0, none or faint; 1, mild; or 2, moderate to intense), and the shape (mass-like or non mass-like) was evaluated. For semi-quantitative analysis, the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) was calculated. RESULTS: Sixteen of 59 patients had local failure. In recurrent tumor, the combination of intensity grade 2 and mass-like shape was most common (21/23; 91%). By contrast, in cases of radiation fibrosis, the combination of intensity grade 0 or 1 and non mass-like shape was most common (48/59; 81%). The SUV(max) of tumor recurrence after 12 months was significantly higher than that of radiation fibrosis (8.0 ± 3.2 vs. 2.1 ± 0.9, p < 0.001), and all tumor recurrence showed the SUV(max) > 4.5 at diagnosis of local failure. At ≥12 months after SABR, these two variables, the combination of intensity 2 and mass-like FDG uptake or SUV(max) > 4.5 acquired a significant high predictive value of local recurrence, finding sensitivity 100% and specificity 100% for both of them. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of FDG uptake patterns and SUV(max) was useful for distinguishing tumor recurrence from radiation fibrosis after SABR.

Identification of candidates for postmastectomy radiotherapy in patients with pT3N0M0 breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is still controversy concerning the indication of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for pT3N0M0 breast cancer. To identify the candidates for PMRT in this subset, we investigated failure patterns, and searched for risk factors for isolated locoregional failure in pT3N0M0 breast cancer after mastectomy without PMRT. METHODS: Among 1,176 patients who received mastectomy without PMRT for untreated unilateral breast cancer between 1990 and 2002, 64 patients (5%) had pT3N0M0 breast cancer (age 30-81 years; median 52.5 years). RESULTS: Isolated locoregional failure as the initial failure occurred in three patients. For all 64 patients, the 8-year failure-free survival rate, the isolated locoregional failure-free rate, and the distant failure-free rate were 76, 93, and 82%, respectively. Incidence of isolated locoregional failure as the initial failure was 18% (2/11) for patients 40 years or younger and 2% (1/53) for patients older than 40 years. The 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rates were 73% for patients 40 years or younger and 98% for patients older than 40 years (p = 0.0135). CONCLUSION: Concerning pT3N0M0 breast cancer, incidence of isolated locoregional failure was comparatively low after mastectomy without PMRT. Routine use of PMRT for all pT3N0M0 patients seemed to be unacceptable. PMRT may be useful for younger patients because of the comparatively high incidence of isolated locoregional failure. Because of the small number of cases in our series, further studies are necessary to determine the usefulness of PMRT for younger patients with pT3N0M0 breast cancer.

Impact of aggregate of risk factors for isolated locoregional failure in breast cancer patients treated with mastectomy without radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The impact of aggregate of risk factors on isolated locoregional failure after mastectomy without radiotherapy was assessed. METHODS: We reviewed 1091 patients who had stage I-III unilateral breast cancer and received mastectomy between 1990 and 2002. RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 67 (1-175) months. On multivariate analysis, four or more positive axillary lymph nodes (AXLN ≥4), pT4, primary tumor larger than 5 cm (T >5 cm), severe lymphatic invasion (ly2-3), and negative hormone receptor status (HR negative) were the statistically significant risk factors (hazard ratios 5.78, 2.31, 2.47, 2.99, and 3.40, respectively). The 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rates of patients with single risk factor were 88% for AXLN ≥4, 93% for pT4, 93% for T >5 cm, 98% for ly2-3, and 97% for HR negative. Considering impact on isolated locoregional failure, AXLN ≥4 was termed the major risk factor and other factors were termed minor risk factors. The 8-year isolated locoregional failure-free rates were 98% for patients with only 0-1 minor risk factors (low-risk group), 86% for patients with the major risk factor alone or with only 2-4 minor risk factors (intermediate-risk group), 72% for patients with the major risk factor plus 1-2 minor risk factors (high-risk group), and 28% for patients with the major risk factor plus 3-4 minor risk factors (very high-risk group). CONCLUSIONS: Aggregate of risk factors increased the risk of isolated locoregional failure significantly. Patients with the major risk factor plus one or more minor risk factors seemed to be candidates for postmastectomy radiotherapy.

Lung-cancer related chest events detected by periodical follow-up CT after stereotactic body radiotherapy for stage I primary lung cancer: retrospective analysis of incidence of lung-cancer related chest events and outcomes of salvage treatment.

PURPOSE: Follow-up by chest CT is often performed routinely after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for primary lung cancer. We investigated how often periodical chest CT detected lung-cancer related chest events (failure in the chest, new primary lung cancer), and how often chest CT follow-ups led to curative intent salvage treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2006 and 2009, 90 stage I primary lung cancers in 86 patients received SBRT. In principle, chest CT was scheduled every 2-3 months in the first two years, and every 3-4 months thereafter. RESULTS: Median time to follow-up by chest CT was 26 months (1-61 months). Twenty-seven lung-cancer related chest events were detected by periodical chest CT after SBRT. The three-year lung-cancer related chest event free rate was 62 %. It was possible to apply curative-intent salvage treatment to 56 % of the lung-cancer related chest events. The two-year overall survival rate was 66 % among the 13 patients who received curative-intent salvage treatment (radiotherapy, 11; surgery, 2). CONCLUSION: Post-SBRT lung-cancer related chest events (as detected by periodical chest CT) were not uncommon (approximately 40 % at 3 years from SBRT), and it was possible to treat more than half of these lesions with curative-intent salvage treatment.

Factors affecting the local control of stereotactic body radiotherapy for lung tumors including primary lung cancer and metastatic lung tumors.

PURPOSE: To identify factors affecting local control of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for lung tumors including primary lung cancer and metastatic lung tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 2006 and June 2009, 159 lung tumors in 144 patients (primary lung cancer, 128; metastatic lung tumor, 31) were treated with SBRT with 48-60 Gy (mean 50.1 Gy) in 4-5 fractions. Higher doses were given to larger tumors and metastatic tumors in principle. Assessed factors were age, gender, tumor origin (primary vs. metastatic), histological subtype, tumor size, tumor appearance (solid vs. ground glass opacity), maximum standardized uptake value of positron emission tomography using (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D: -glucose, and SBRT doses. RESULTS: Follow-up time was 1-60 months (median 18 months). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year local failure-free rates of all lesions were 90, 80, and 77 %, respectively. On univariate analysis, metastatic tumors (p < 0.0001), solid tumors (p = 0.0246), and higher SBRT doses (p = 0.0334) were the statistically significant unfavorable factors for local control. On multivariate analysis, only tumor origin was statistically significant (p = 0.0027). The 2-year local failure-free rates of primary lung cancer and metastatic lung tumors were 87 and 50 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A metastatic tumor was the only independently significant unfavorable factor for local control after SBRT.