Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases from human epidermal receptor 2 positive breast Cancer: an international, multi-center study.

PURPOSE: To report patient outcomes and local tumor control rates in a cohort of patients with biopsy-proven HER-2 positive breast cancer treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases (BM). METHODS: This international, retrospective, multicenter study, included 195 female patients with 1706 SRS-treated BM. Radiologic and clinical outcomes after SRS were determined and prognostic factors identified. RESULTS: At SRS, median patient age was 55 years [interquartile range (IQR) 47.6-62.0], and 156 (80%) patients had KPS ≥ 80. The median tumor volume was 0.1 cm3 (IQR 0.1-0.5) and the median prescription dose was 16 Gy (IQR 16-18). Local tumor control (LTC) rate was 98%, 94%, 93%, 90%, and 88% at six-, 12-, 24-, 36- and 60-months post-SRS, respectively. On multivariate analysis, tumor volume (p = < 0.001) and concurrent pertuzumab (p = 0.02) improved LTC. Overall survival (OS) rates at six-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-months were 90%, 69%, 46%, 27%, 22%, and 18%, respectively. Concurrent pertuzumab improved OS (p = 0.032). In this patient subgroup, GPA scores ≥ 2.5 (p = 0.038 and p = 0.003) and rare primary tumor histologies (p = 0.01) were associated with increased and decreased OS, respectively. Asymptomatic adverse radiation events (ARE) occurred in 27 (14.0%) and symptomatic ARE in five (2.6%) patients. Invasive lobular carcinoma primary (p = 0.042) and concurrent pertuzumab (p < 0.001) conferred an increased risk for overall but not for symptomatic ARE. CONCLUSION: SRS affords effective LTC for selected patients with BM from HER-2 positive breast cancer. Concurrent pertuzumab improved LTC and OS but at the same time increased the risk for overall, but not symptomatic, ARE.

"De novo replication repair deficient glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype" is a distinct glioblastoma subtype in adults that may benefit from immune checkpoint blockade.

Glioblastoma is a clinically and molecularly heterogeneous disease, and new predictive biomarkers are needed to identify those patients most likely to respond to specific treatments. Through prospective genomic profiling of 459 consecutive primary treatment-naïve IDH-wildtype glioblastomas in adults, we identified a unique subgroup (2%, 9/459) defined by somatic hypermutation and DNA replication repair deficiency due to biallelic inactivation of a canonical mismatch repair gene. The deleterious mutations in mismatch repair genes were often present in the germline in the heterozygous state with somatic inactivation of the remaining allele, consistent with glioblastomas arising due to underlying Lynch syndrome. A subset of tumors had accompanying proofreading domain mutations in the DNA polymerase POLE and resultant "ultrahypermutation". The median age at diagnosis was 50 years (range 27-78), compared with 63 years for the other 450 patients with conventional glioblastoma (p < 0.01). All tumors had histologic features of the giant cell variant of glioblastoma. They lacked EGFR amplification, lacked combined trisomy of chromosome 7 plus monosomy of chromosome 10, and only rarely had TERT promoter mutation or CDKN2A homozygous deletion, which are hallmarks of conventional IDH-wildtype glioblastoma. Instead, they harbored frequent inactivating mutations in TP53, NF1, PTEN, ATRX, and SETD2 and recurrent activating mutations in PDGFRA. DNA methylation profiling revealed they did not align with known reference adult glioblastoma methylation classes, but instead had unique globally hypomethylated epigenomes and mostly classified as "Diffuse pediatric-type high grade glioma, RTK1 subtype, subclass A". Five patients were treated with immune checkpoint blockade, four of whom survived greater than 3 years. The median overall survival was 36.8 months, compared to 15.5 months for the other 450 patients (p < 0.001). We conclude that "De novo replication repair deficient glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype" represents a biologically distinct subtype in the adult population that may benefit from prospective identification and treatment with immune checkpoint blockade.

Evaluation of a Radiation Oncology Microclerkship as a Component of Medical Student Education.

Compared to most oncologic subspecialties, radiation oncology (RO) lacks a natural pathway for incorporation into the clinical clerkships, and few students ever complete a formal rotation in RO. The feasibility, and perceived value, of a 1-day "microclerkship" exposure in RO during other related clerkships was evaluated in this study. At a single institution, the RO clerkship director partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year student would spend 1 day in RO during those clerkships. Afterwards, students completed an electronic survey containing multiple choice and 5-point Likert-type questions describing their experience. Descriptive statistics are reported. Ninety-seven students completed the RO microclerkship over 2 years, and 81 completed the survey (response rate 84%). Only 8 students (10%) had ever been in a RO department previously. During the microclerkship, 73 students (90%) saw at least one new patient consultation; 77 (95%) were involved in contouring or treatment planning; 76 (94%) saw treatment delivery; and 38 (47%) saw a brachytherapy procedure. Seventy-nine students (98%) felt that the microclerkship was at least moderately valuable (mean Likert-type rating 4.01, SD 0.73). Forty students (49%) were either somewhat or much more interested in participating in a longer (2-4 week) rotation in radiation oncology (mean Likert-type rating 3.59, SD 0.83). This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating a 1-day RO microclerkship into other related elective clerkships. Students viewed the experience favorably and found it valuable in their education.

Association of mental health diagnosis with race and all-cause mortality after a cancer diagnosis: Large-scale analysis of electronic health record data.

BACKGROUND: Disparity in mental health care among cancer patients remains understudied. METHODS: A large, retrospective, single tertiary-care institution cohort study was conducted based on deidentified electronic health record data of 54,852 adult cancer patients without prior mental health diagnosis (MHD) diagnosed at the University of California, San Francisco between January 2012 and September 2019. The exposure of interest was early-onset MHD with or without psychotropic medication (PM) within 12 months of cancer diagnosis and primary outcome was all-cause mortality. RESULTS: There were 8.2% of patients who received a new MHD at a median of 197 days (interquartile range, 61-553) after incident cancer diagnosis; 31.0% received a PM prescription; and 3.7% a mental health-related visit (MHRV). There were 62.6% of patients who were non-Hispanic White (NHW), 10.8% were Asian, 9.8% were Hispanic, and 3.8% were Black. Compared with NHWs, minority cancer patients had reduced adjusted odds of MHDs, PM prescriptions, and MHRVs, particularly for generalized anxiety (Asian odds ratio [OR], 0.66, 95% CI, 0.55-0.78; Black OR, 0.60, 95% CI, 0.45-0.79; Hispanic OR, 0.72, 95% CI, 0.61-0.85) and selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (Asian OR, 0.43, 95% CI, 0.37-0.50; Black OR, 0.51, 95% CI, 0.40-0.61; Hispanic OR, 0.79, 95% CI, 0.70-0.89). New early MHD with PM was associated with elevated all-cause mortality (12-24 months: hazard ratio [HR], 1.43, 95% CI, 1.25-1.64) that waned by 24 to 36 months (HR, 1.18, 95% CI, 0.95-1.45). CONCLUSIONS: New mental health diagnosis with PM was a marker of early mortality among cancer patients. Minority cancer patients were less likely to receive documentation of MHDs or treatment, which may represent missed opportunities to identify and treat cancer-related mental health conditions.

Anatomic patterns of relapse and progression following treatment with 131 I-MIBG in relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG)-avid relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma after initial therapy may exhibit transient responses to salvage treatment with iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine (131 I-MIBG). It is unclear whether disease progression following 131 I-MIBG treatment occurs in previously involved versus new anatomic sites of disease. Understanding this pattern of relapse will inform the use of consolidation therapy following 131 I-MIBG administration. METHODS: Patients with relapsed or refractory metastatic MIBG-avid neuroblastoma or ganglioneuroblastoma, who received single-agent 131 I-MIBG, had stable or responding disease 6-8 weeks following 131 I-MIBG, but subsequently experienced disease progression were included. MIBG scans were reviewed to establish anatomic and temporal evolution of MIBG-avid disease. RESULTS: A total of 84 MIBG-avid metastatic sites were identified immediately prior to MIBG therapy in a cohort of 12 patients. At first progression, a total of 101 MIBG-avid sites were identified, of which 69 (68%) overlapped with pre-treatment disease sites, while 32 (32%) represented anatomically new disease areas. Eight of 12 patients had one or more new MIBG-avid sites at first progression. Of the 69 involved sites at progression that overlapped with pre-treatment disease, 11 represented relapsed sites that had cleared following MIBG therapy, two were persistent but increasingly MIBG-avid, and 56 were stably persistent. CONCLUSIONS: Previously involved anatomic disease sites predominate at disease progression following 131 I-MIBG treatment. Nevertheless, the majority of patients progressed in at least one new anatomic disease site. This suggests that consolidation focal therapies targeting residual disease sites may be of limited benefit in preventing systemic disease progression following 131 I-MIBG treatment of relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma.

Pattern and predictors of sites of relapse in neuroblastoma: A report from the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) project.

PURPOSE: We sought to analyze biologic, clinical, and prognostic differences according to pattern of failure at the time of first relapse in neuroblastoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Children <21 years diagnosed with neuroblastoma between 1989 and 2017 with known site of first relapse (isolated local vs. distant only vs. combined local and distant sites) were identified from the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) database. Data were compared between sites of relapse according to clinical features, biologic features, initial treatment, time to first relapse, and overall survival (OS) from time of first relapse. RESULTS: Pattern of first relapse among 1833 children was 19% isolated local; 65% distant only; and 16% combined sites. All evaluated clinical and biologic variables with exception of tumor diagnosis differed statistically by relapse pattern, with patients with isolated local failure having more favorable prognostic features. Patients with stage 3 disease were more likely to have isolated local failure compared to all other stages (49% vs. 16%; p < .001). OS significantly differed by relapse pattern (5-year OS ± SE): isolated local: 64% ± 3%; distant only: 23% ± 2%; and combined: 26% ± 4% (p < .001). After controlling for age, stage, and MYCN status, patients with isolated local failure (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.33-0.62; p < .001) and distant-only failure (adjusted HR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.45-0.71; p < .001) remained at decreased risk for death as compared to patients with combined failure. CONCLUSION: Patients with distant-only and combined failures have a higher proportion of unfavorable clinical and biological features, and a lower survival than those with isolated local relapse.

Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group Annual Spring Symposium: Initial Impact and Feedback.

The Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group (ROECSG) is an international collaborative network of radiation oncology (RO) professionals with the goal of improving RO education. This report summarizes the first two ROECSG annual symposia including an overview of presentations and analysis of participant feedback. One-day symposia were held in June 2018 and May 2019. Programs included oral and poster presentations, RO education leadership perspectives, and keynote addresses. Post-symposia surveys were collected. Research presentations were recorded and made available online. The 2018 symposium was had 36 attendees from 25 institutions in three countries. The 2019 symposium had 76 individuals from 41 institutions in five countries. Attendees represented diverse backgrounds including attending physicians (46%), residents (13%), medical students (14%), physicists (2%), nurses (1%), and program coordinators (1%). Fifty-five oral presentations were given with 53 released online. Ninety percent of attendees rated the symposium as improving their knowledge of RO educational scholarship, 98% felt the symposium provided the opportunity to receive feedback on RO education scholarship, and 99% felt that the symposium fostered the development of collaborative RO education projects. ROECSG was rated higher than professional organizations in fostering educational scholarship (p<0.001). All attendees felt that the symposium produced new RO education scholarship ideas and provided unique networking opportunities. The first two ROECSG symposia drew a diverse population of attendees and provided unique opportunities for presentation of RO education scholarship. Future ROECSG symposia will be designed to enhance opportunities to present RO education scholarship and to facilitate networking.

Relationship between 7T MR-angiography features of vascular injury and cognitive decline in young brain tumor patients treated with radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: Although radiation therapy (RT) is a common treatment for pediatric brain tumors, it is associated with detrimental long-term effects such as impaired cognition, vascular injury, and increased stroke risk. This study aimed to develop metrics that describe vascular injury and relate them to the presence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and cognitive performance scores. METHODS: Twenty-five young adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors treated with either whole-brain (n = 12), whole-ventricular (n = 7), or no RT (n = 6) underwent 7T MRI and neurocognitive testing. Simultaneously acquired MR angiography and susceptibility-weighted images were used to segment CMBs and vessels and quantify their radii and volume. RESULTS: Patients treated with whole-brain RT had significantly lower arterial volumes (p = 0.003) and a higher proportion of smaller vessels (p = 0.003) compared to the whole-ventricular RT and non-irradiated control patients. Normalized arterial volume decreased with increasing CMB count (R = - 0.66, p = 0.003), and decreasing trends were observed with time since RT and at longitudinal follow-up. Global cognition and verbal memory significantly decreased with smaller normalized arterial volume (p ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Arterial volume is reduced with increasing CMB presence and is influenced by the total brain volume exposed to radiation. This work highlights the potential use of vascular-derived metrics as non-invasive markers of treatment-induced injury and cognitive impairment in pediatric brain tumor patients.

A single institution retrospective analysis on survival based on treatment paradigms for patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma.

INTRODUCTION: Anaplastic oligodendrogliomas are high-grade gliomas defined molecularly by 1p19q co-deletion. There is no curative therapy, and standard of care includes surgical resection followed by radiation and chemotherapy. However, the benefit of up-front radiation with chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone has not been demonstrated in a randomized control trial. Given the potential long-term consequences of radiation therapy, such as cognitive impairment, arteriopathy, endocrinopathy, and hearing/visual impairment, there is an effort to balance longevity with radiation toxicity. METHODS: We performed a retrospective single institution analysis of survival of patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma over 20 years. RESULTS: 159 patients were identified as diagnosed with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma between 1996 and 2016. Of those, 40 patients were found to have AO at original diagnosis and had documented 1p19q co-deletion with a median of 7.1 years of follow-up (range: 0.6-16.7 years). After surgery, 45 % of patients were treated with radiation and chemotherapy at diagnosis, and 50 % were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy alone. The group treated with chemotherapy alone had a trend of receiving more cycles of chemotherapy than patients treated with radiation and chemotherapy upfront (p = 0.051). Median overall survival has not yet been reached. The related risk of progression in the upfront, adjuvant chemotherapy only group was almost 5-fold higher than the patients who received radiation and chemotherapy (hazard ratio = 4.85 (1.74-13.49), p = 0.002). However, there was no significant difference in overall survival in patients treated with upfront chemotherapy compared to patients treated upfront with chemotherapy and radiation (p = 0.8). Univariate analysis of age, KPS, extent of resection, or upfront versus delayed radiation was not associated with improved survival. CONCLUSIONS: Initial treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy alone, rather than radiation and chemotherapy, may be an option for some patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma, as it is associated with similar overall survival despite shorter progression free survival.

Redistributing Central Target Dose Hot Spots for Hypofractionated Radiosurgery of Large Brain Tumors: A Proof-of-Principle Study.

OBJECTIVE: The present proof-of-principle study investigated radiobiological effects of redistributing central target dose hot spots across different treatment fractions during hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (HSRS) of large intracranial tumors. METHODS: Redistribution of central target dose hot spots during HSRS was simulated, and its effects were evaluated in eight cases of brain metastases. To assess dose variations in the target across N number of treatment fractions, a generalized biologically effective dose (gBED) was formulated. The gBED enhancement ratio was defined as the ratio of gBED in the tested treatment plan (with central target dose hot spot redistributions across fractions) to gBED in the conventional treatment plan (without central target dose hot spot redistributions). RESULTS: At a median α value of 0.3/Gy, the tested treatment plans resulted in average gBED increases of 15.6 ± 3.5% and 8.3 ± 1.8% for α/ß ratios of 2 and 10 Gy, respectively. In comparison with conventional treatment plans, the differences in the Paddick conformity index and gradient index did not exceed 2%. CONCLUSION: Redistributing central target dose hot spots across different treatment fractions during HSRS may be considered promising for enhancing gBED in the target. It may be beneficial for management of large intracranial neoplasms; thus, it warrants further clinical testing.

Feasibility and Significance of Dose Adaptation via Linear Couch Translations to Correct for Rotational Shifts During Frameless Brain Radiosurgery with the Gamma Knife Icon™.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the technical feasibility and effectiveness of adapting the radiation dose distributions with three-dimensional (3D) linear couch translations in contrast to full six-dimensional couch maneuvers to correct for rotational shifts during frameless radiosurgical treatment with the Gamma Knife Icon™ (Elekta AB; Stockholm, Sweden). METHODS: The original magnetic resonance images used for radiosurgery treatment planning (15 targets) were digitally processed to simulate rotational shifts of ±1, ±2, ±3, ±5, and ±10 degrees in the transverse plane and imported back into Leksell GammaPlan® (Elekta AB), creating "uncorrected" treatment plans. In addition, geometrically optimized 3D translation shifts were consequently applied to each isocenter in all "uncorrected" treatment plans to account for systematically introduced rotational shifts and to produce "corrected" treatment plans. The differences in the dose distribution between the original treatment plans and the "uncorrected" and "corrected" treatment plans were calculated and compared at each rotational shift position. RESULTS: The "uncorrected" treatment plans resulted in a significant deterioration in target coverage (by 8-72%) and selectivity (by 2-42%), with some targets being missed completely with rotations of ±3 or more degrees. In contrast, in all "corrected" treatment plans, the average decreases in target coverage and selectivity were only 1% (maximum values 4-5%). CONCLUSION: Applications of 3D linear couch translations successfully overcome gross uncertainties in dose distributions caused by up to ±10 degrees of rotational shifts in a target. As a result, rapid dose adaptation with 3D couch translations is unique and effective for frameless radiosurgery with the Gamma Knife Icon™.

Impact of the Skull Size on the Normal Brain Radiation Dose During Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Results of a Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was evaluation of the interrelationships between changes in the skull size and variations in the normal brain radiation dose during Gamma Knife surgery (GKS). METHODS: With use of systematic modeling within Leksell GammaPlan® (Elekta AB; Stockholm, Sweden) in each of 15 analyzed cases, the skull was "expanded" and "contracted" by variation of its measurement values from 0 to ±3 cm. The mean normal brain radiation dose was then computed for each variant of the adjusted skull size and compared with the original treatment plan. Variations in the maximum point dose delivered to selected critical anatomical structures were also investigated. RESULTS: With changes in the skull radius within ±3 cm, the maximum absolute deviation in the mean normal brain radiation dose was 0.8%. As the skull radius increased, the mean normal brain radiation dose also increased linearly (confidence level >99%) with a positive slope of 0.2% per centimeter of radius length change. The maximum point dose deviations in all evaluated critical anatomical structures did not exceed 0.5%, with an overall trend toward a dose increase in parallel with an increase in the skull radius. CONCLUSION: The small skull size of pediatric patients may be associated with dosimetric advantages in terms of normal brain sparing during GKS.

An analysis of tumor-related potential spinal column instability (Spine Instability Neoplastic Scores 7-12) eventually requiring surgery with a 1-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Within the Spine Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) classification, tumor-related potential spinal instability (SINS 7-12) may not have a clear treatment approach. The authors aimed to examine the proportion of patients in this indeterminate zone who later required surgical stabilization after initial nonoperative management. By studying this patient population, they sought to determine if a clear SINS cutoff existed whereby the spine is potentially unstable due to a lesion and would be more likely to require stabilization. METHODS: Records from patients treated at the University of California, San Francisco, for metastatic spine disease from 2005 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Seventy-five patients with tumor-related potential spinal instability (SINS 7-12) who were initially treated nonoperatively were included. All patients had at least a 1-year follow-up with complete medical records. A univariate chi-square test and Student t-test were used to compare categorical and continuous outcomes, respectively, between patients who ultimately underwent surgery and those who did not. A backward likelihood multivariate binary logistic regression model was used to investigate the relationship between clinical characteristics and surgical intervention. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) and single-variable logistic regression were performed as a function of SINS. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients with a total of 292 spinal metastatic sites were included in this study; 26 (34.7%) patients underwent surgical intervention, and 49 (65.3%) did not. There was no difference in age, sex, comorbidities, or lesion location between the groups. However, there were more patients with a SINS of 12 in the surgery group (55.2%) than in the no surgery group (44.8%) (p = 0.003). On multivariate analysis, SINS > 11 (OR 8.09, CI 1.96-33.4, p = 0.004) and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score < 60 (OR 0.94, CI 0.89-0.98, p = 0.008) were associated with an increased risk of surgery. KPS score was not correlated with SINS (p = 0.4). RPA by each spinal lesion identified an optimal cutoff value of SINS > 10, which were associated with an increased risk of surgical intervention. Patients with a surgical intervention had a higher incidence of complications on multivariable analysis (OR 2.96, CI 1.01-8.71, p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a mean SINS of 11 or greater may be at increased risk of mechanical instability requiring surgery after initial nonoperative management. RPA showed that patients with a KPS score of 60 or lower and a SINS of greater than 10 had increased surgery rates.

Role of the extent of prophylactic regional lymph node radiotherapy on survival in high-risk neuroblastoma: A report from the COG A3973 study.

PURPOSE: Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid pediatric malignancy, with poor outcomes in high-risk disease. Standard treatment approaches employ an increasing array of aggressive multimodal therapies, of which local control with surgery and radiotherapy remains a backbone; however, the benefit of broad regional nodal irradiation remains controversial. We analyzed centrally reviewed radiation therapy data from patients enrolled on COG A3973 to evaluate the impact of primary site irradiation and the extent of regional nodal coverage stratified by extent of surgical resection. METHODS: Three hundred thirty high-risk neuroblastoma patients with centrally reviewed radiotherapy plans were analyzed. Outcome was evaluated by the extent of nodal irradiation. For the 171 patients who also underwent surgery (centrally reviewed), outcome was likewise analyzed according to the extent of resection. Overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and cumulative incidence of local progression (CILP) were examined by Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test (EFS, OS), and Grey test (CILP). RESULTS: The five-year CILP, EFS, and OS for all 330 patients receiving radiotherapy on A3973 were 8.5% ± 1.5%, 47.2% ± 3.0%, and 59.7% ± 3.0%, respectively. There were no significant differences in outcomes based on the extent of lymph node irradiation regardless of the degree of surgical resection (< 90% or ≥90%). CONCLUSION: Although local control remains a significant component of treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma, our results suggest there is no benefit of extensive lymph node irradiation, irrespective of the extent of surgical resection preceding stem cell transplant.

Palliative radiotherapy near the end of life.

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of patients with advanced cancer undergo palliative radiotherapy (RT) within their last 30 days of life. This study characterizes palliative RT at our institution and aims to identify patients who may experience limited benefit from RT due to imminent mortality. METHODS: Five hundred and-eighteen patients treated with external beam RT to a site of metastatic disease between 2012 and 2016 were included. Mann-Whitney U and chi-squared tests were used to identify factors associated with RT within 30 days of death (D30RT). RESULTS: Median age at RT was 63 years (IQR 54-71). Median time from RT to death was 74 days (IQR 33-174). One hundred and twenty-five patients (24%) died within 30 days of RT. D30RT was associated with older age at RT (64 vs. 62 years, p = 0.04), shorter interval since diagnosis (14 vs. 31 months, p <  0.001), liver metastasis (p = 0.02), lower KPS (50 vs. 70, p <  0.001), lower BMI (22 vs. 24, p = 0.001), and inpatient status at consult (56% vs. 26%, p < 0.001). Patients who died within 30 days of RT were less likely to have hospice involved in their care (44% vs. 71%, p = 0.001). D30RT was associated with higher Chow and TEACHH scores at consult (p < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-four percent of patients received palliative RT within 30 days of death. Additional tools are necessary to help physicians identify patients who would benefit from short treatment courses or alternative interventions to maximize quality at the end of life.

Student Perspectives on Oncology Curricula at United States Medical Schools.

Delivering a cohesive oncology curriculum to medical students is challenging due to oncology's multidisciplinary nature, predominantly outpatient clinical setting, and lack of data describing effective approaches to teaching it. We sought to better characterize approaches to oncology education at US medical schools by surveying third and fourth year medical students who serve on their institution's curriculum committee. We received responses from students at 19 schools (15.2% response rate). Key findings included the following: (1) an under-emphasis of cancer in the curriculum relative to other common diseases; (2) imbalanced involvement of different clinical subspecialists as educators; (3) infrequent requirements for students to rotate through non-surgical oncologic clerkships; and (4) students are less confident in their knowledge of cancer treatment compared to basic science/natural history or workup/diagnosis. Based on these findings, we provide several recommendations to achieve robust multidisciplinary curriculum design and implementation that better balances the clinical and classroom aspects of oncology education.

Salvage therapy outcomes for atypical meningioma.

Atypical menginomas demonstrate increased clinical aggressiveness characterized by recurrence and diminished survival. The optimal management of atypical meningioma in the recurrent setting is especially not well defined. To characterize outcomes following salvage treatment of recurrent atypical meningioma and to identify risk factors for further recurrence. Retrospective chart review was performed on 65 patients who underwent salvage treatment of atypical meningioma at a single institution. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards modeling. Sixty-five patients with recurrent atypical meningioma and median imaging follow-up of 4.0 years (range 1.9-6.6 years) underwent 62 surgeries and 114 radiation treatments (RT) for salvage therapy. Salvage modality was surgery (21%), surgery/RT (25%), or RT alone (54%), associated with 2 year local freedom from recurrence (LFFR) of 36, 59, and 73%, respectively (P = 0.01). Twenty percent of patients experienced CTCAE grade ≥ 3 toxicity with salvage therapy. Thirty-nine percent of patients experienced ≥ 3 recurrences. The median disease-free survival intervals after first and second salvage treatments were 2.9 and 1.3 years, respectively. On univariate Cox analysis, prior subtotal resection, prior RT, tumor diameter > 2.5 cm, and multifocal local recurrence were associated with recurrence after salvage therapy. On multivariate logistic regression, only multifocal local recurrence was associated with further recurrence. Recurrent atypical meningioma is clinically and pathologically more aggressive than primary atypical meningioma, and the likelihood of durable local control with salvage therapy is lower. Future efforts should identify patients at risk of recurrence, and aggressive upfront treatment should be employed.

Influence of respiratory motion management technique on radiation pneumonitis risk with robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: For lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), real-time tumor tracking (RTT) allows for less radiation to normal lung compared to the internal target volume (ITV) method of respiratory motion management. To quantify the advantage of RTT, we examined the difference in radiation pneumonitis risk between these two techniques using a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model. MATERIALS/METHOD: 20 lung SBRT treatment plans using RTT were replanned with the ITV method using respiratory motion information from a 4D-CT image acquired at the original simulation. Risk of symptomatic radiation pneumonitis was calculated for both plans using a previously derived NTCP model. Features available before treatment planning that identified significant increase in NTCP with ITV versus RTT plans were identified. RESULTS: Prescription dose to the planning target volume (PTV) ranged from 22 to 60 Gy in 1-5 fractions. The median tumor diameter was 3.5 cm (range 2.1-5.5 cm) with a median volume of 14.5 mL (range 3.6-59.9 mL). The median increase in PTV volume from RTT to ITV plans was 17.1 mL (range 3.5-72.4 mL), and the median increase in PTV/lung volume ratio was 0.46% (range 0.13-1.98%). Mean lung dose and percentage dose-volumes were significantly higher in ITV plans at all levels tested. The median NTCP was 5.1% for RTT plans and 8.9% for ITV plans, with a median difference of 1.9% (range 0.4-25.5%, pairwise P < 0.001). Increases in NTCP between plans were best predicted by increases in PTV volume and PTV/lung volume ratio. CONCLUSIONS: The use of RTT decreased the risk of radiation pneumonitis in all plans. However, for most patients the risk reduction was minimal. Differences in plan PTV volume and PTV/lung volume ratio may identify patients who would benefit from RTT technique before completing treatment planning.

Multi-institutional experience of stereotactic body radiotherapy for large (≥5 centimeters) non-small cell lung tumors.

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is the standard of care for patients with nonoperative, early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) measuring < 5 cm, but its use among patients with tumors measuring ≥5 cm is considerably less defined, with the existing literature limited to small, single-institution reports. The current multi-institutional study reported outcomes evaluating the largest such population reported to date. METHODS: Clinical/treatment characteristics, outcomes, toxicities, and patterns of failure were assessed in patients with primary NSCLC measuring ≥5 cm without evidence of distant/lymph node metastasis who underwent SBRT using ≤5 fractions. Statistics included Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and univariate/multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients treated from 2004 through 2016 were analyzed from 12 institutions. The median follow-up was 12 months (15 months in survivors). The median age and tumor size among the patients were 73 years (range, 50-95 years) and 5.4 cm (range, 5.0-7.5 cm), respectively. The median dose/fractionation was 50 Gray/5 fractions. The actuarial local control rates at 1 year and 2 years were 95.7% and 73.2%, respectively. The disease-free survival rate was 72.1% and 53.5%, respectively, at 1 year and 2 years. The 1-year and 2-year disease-specific survival rates were 95.5% and 78.6%, respectively. The median, 1-year, and 2-year overall survival rates were 21.4 months, 76.2%, and 46.4%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, lung cancer history and pre-SBRT positron emission tomography maximum standardized uptake value were found to be associated with overall survival. Posttreatment failures were most commonly distant (33% of all disease recurrences), followed by local (26%) and those occurring elsewhere in the lung (23%). Three patients had isolated local failures. Grade 3 to 4 toxicities included 1 case (1%) and 4 cases (4%) of grade 3 dermatitis and radiation pneumonitis, respectively (toxicities were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 4.0]). Grades 2 to 5 radiation pneumonitis occurred in 11% of patients. One patient with a tumor measuring 7.5 cm and a smoking history of 150 pack-years died of radiation pneumonitis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study, which is the largest study of patients with NSCLC measuring ≥5 cm reported to date, indicate that SBRT is a safe and efficacious option. Cancer 2017;123:688-696. © 2016 American Cancer Society.