Efficacy and toxicity of re-irradiation spine stereotactic body radiotherapy with respect to irradiation dose history.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to clarify the outcomes of re-irradiation stereotactic body radiotherapy for spinal metastases with a uniform dose fractionation schedule at our institution. METHODS: Data of patients treated with re-irradiation stereotactic body radiotherapy for spinal metastases (September 2013-March 2020) were retrospectively reviewed. The prescribed dose was 24 Gy in two fractions. The spinal cord dose constraint and dose for previously irradiated cases ≥50 Gy in 25 fractions were 12.2 Gy (maximum dose) and 11 Gy, respectively. The endpoints were pain control, local failure and adverse effects. Pain status was measured on a scale of 0-10 using the patients' self-reports and pain response was defined using international consensus criteria. Local failure was defined as tumor progression on imaging evaluations. RESULTS: We assessed 133 lesions in 123 patients, where 70 (52.6%) had three or more spinal levels treated, 58 (43.6%) had previous irradiation doses of 40 Gy or more and 53 (39.8%) had the targets compressing the cord. The median follow-up was 12 months and the 3-, 6- and 12-month pain response rate was 75, 64 and 59%, respectively. The 1-year local failure rate was 25.8%. Previous irradiation dose was not correlated with local failure rate (P = 0.13). Radiation-induced myelopathy, radiculopathy and vertebral compression fractures were observed in 4 (3.0%), 2 (1.5%) and 17 (13.8%) lesions, respectively. A trend towards an association between any toxicity and previous irradiation dose was not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Re-irradiation spine stereotactic body radiotherapy achieved good local control and pain control, with reduced risk of radiation myelopathy.