Evaluating the Heterogeneity of Hippocampal Avoidant Whole Brain Radiotherapy Treatment Effect: A Secondary Analysis of NRG CC001.

BACKGROUND: Hippocampal avoidant whole brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT) is the standard of care for patients needing WBRT for brain metastases (BM). This study, using existing data from NRG Oncology CC001 including baseline tumor characteristics and patient-reported MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Brain Tumor (MDASI-BT) scores, sought to identify subgroups of patients that demonstrate differential neuroprotective treatment response to HA-WBRT. METHODS: An exploratory analysis of NRG CC001, a phase III trial in which 518 patients were randomly assigned to WBRT plus memantine or HA-WBRT plus memantine, was performed. Rates of neurocognitive function failure (NCFF) were estimated between subgroups and stratified by arm. Covariate and subgroup interaction with differential treatment response were calculated. RESULTS: The benefit of HA-WBRT on decreasing NCFF was seen in patients living ≥ 4 months (HR 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58-0.97, P=0.03), whereas patients living < 4 months derived no significant neurocognitive benefit. Significant association between baseline MDASI-BT cognitive factor and treatment response (interaction P=0.03) was identified. Patients with lower MDASI-BT scores (less patient-reported cognitive impairment) derived significantly greater benefit (HR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.48-0.85, P=0.002) compared to those with highest MDASI-BT scores (HR=1.24, 95% CI: 0.76-2.04, P=0.39). Tumor histology also had significant interaction (P=0.01) with treatment response. Primary lung histology patients derived cognitive failure risk reduction (HR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.43-0.77, P=0.0007) from HA-WBRT, in contrast to non-lung primary histology patients (HR=1.15, 95% CI: 0.78-1.50, P=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Differential neuroprotective response to HA-WBRT was identified in this analysis. Patients surviving ≥ 4 months derived benefit from HA-WBRT. There is evidence of heterogeneity of treatment effect for patients with less severe patient-reported cognitive impairment at baseline and those with primary lung histology.

RapidPlan hippocampal sparing whole brain model version 2-how far can we reduce the dose?

Whole-brain radiotherapy has been the standard palliative treatment for patients with brain metastases due to its effectiveness, availability, and ease of administration. Recent clinical trials have shown that limiting radiation dose to the hippocampus is associated with decreased cognitive toxicity. In this study, we updated an existing Knowledge Based Planning model to further reduce dose to the hippocampus and improve other dosimetric plan quality characteristics. Forty-two clinical cases were contoured according to guidelines. A new dosimetric scorecard was created as an objective measure for plan quality. The new Hippocampal Sparing Whole Brain Version 2 (HSWBv2) model adopted a complex recursive training process and was validated with five additional cases. HSWBv2 treatment plans were generated on the Varian HalcyonTM and TrueBeamTM systems and compared against plans generated from the existing (HSWBv1) model released in 2016. On the HalcyonTM platform, 42 cases were re-planned. Hippocampal D100% from HSWBv2 and HSWBv1 models had an average dose of 5.75 Gy and 6.46 Gy, respectively (p < 0.001). HSWBv2 model also achieved a hippocampal Dmean of 7.49 Gy, vs 8.10 Gy in HSWBv1 model (p < 0.001). Hippocampal D0.03CC from HSWBv2 model was 9.86 Gy, in contrast to 10.57 Gy in HSWBv1 (p < 0.001). For PTV_3000, D98% and D2% from HSWBv2 model were 28.27 Gy and 31.81 Gy, respectively, compared to 28.08 Gy (p = 0.020) and 32.66 Gy from HSWBv1 (p < 0.001). Among several other dosimetric quality improvements, there was a significant reduction in PTV_3000 V105% from 35.35% (HSWBv1) to 6.44% (HSWBv2) (p < 0.001). On 5 additional validation cases, dosimetric improvements were also observed on TrueBeamTM. In comparison to published data, the HSWBv2 model achieved higher quality hippocampal avoidance whole brain radiation therapy treatment plans through further reductions in hippocampal dose while improving target coverage and dose conformity/homogeneity. HSWBv2 model is shared publicly.

The Effect of Hippocampal Avoidance Whole Brain Radiotherapy on the Preservation of Long-Term Neurocognitive Function in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients With Brain Metastasis.

Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is the mainstay of therapy in treating cancer patients with brain metastases, but unfortunately, it might also lead to decline in neurocognitive function. This study aims to investigate the preservation of long-term neurocognitive function in patients after hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT). Retrospectively, 47 patients diagnosed with brain metastases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between 2015-01-01 and 2017-12-31 at the Department of Oncology, XXX Hospital were selected and divided into 2 groups. Group A (n = 27) received HA-WBRT, whereas group B (n = 20) received WBRT. Neurocognitive function was analyzed at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months after radiotherapy, using Mine-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scales and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scales. The OS, PFS and tumor recurrence sites were also analyzed. When evaluated at 12 and 24 months after radiotherapy, the cognitive function scores of the hippocampal avoidance group were significantly higher than those of the non-hippocampal avoidance group (P < 0.001). In terms of patient survival, there was no significant difference in OS (P = 0.2) and PFS (P = 0.18) between these 2 groups. Fourteen patients in group A and 12 patients in group B had brain tumor recurrence after radiation, only one patient in group A occurred within 5 mm from the edge of the hippocampus (P > 0.05). In conclusion, HA-WBRT might have a protective effect on long-term neurocognitive function and did not affect patient survival.

Research progress on hippocampal-avoidance whole brain radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

With the advancement of imaging diagnosis and the development of modern radiotherapy, the survival of cancer patients has been prolonged and the incidence rate of brain metastases (BM) has been significantly increased. The quality of life of patients and potential radiotherapy-induced neurocognitive impairment have gradually captivated widespread attention. Whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is one of the common local therapies for BM patients. However, the application of WBRT is controversial because it may lead to neurocognitive impairment. The incidence of metastatic tumors in hippocampus and radiation-induced neurocognitive impairment can accelerate the implementation of hippocampal-avoidance WBRT (HA-WBRT). In this article, the feasibility of HA-WBRT was discussed and research progress in recent years was reviewed.

Complete response of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis secondary to breast cancer.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LC) is an unmet medical need associated with death in 4-6 weeks without treatment, delayed by 4 months in some patients with favorable prognosis and aggressive multimodal therapy. Unfortunately, most clinical trials excluded patients with LC, and the best management remains unknown. Here we present the first report of a LC secondary to HR positive breast cancer with a complete response to CDK4/6 inhibitors abemaciclib, letrozole and hippocampal-avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy.

Randomised prospective phase II trial in multiple brain metastases comparing outcomes between hippocampal avoidance whole brain radiotherapy with or without simultaneous integrated boost: HA-SIB-WBRT study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence supports hippocampal avoidance with whole brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT) as the recommended treatment option in patients with good prognosis and multiple brain metastases as this results in better neurocognitive preservation compared to whole brain radiotherapy. However, there is often poor tumour control with this technique due to the low doses given. Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), a form of focused radiotherapy which is given to patients who have a limited number of brain metastases, delivers a higher radiation dose to the metastases resulting in better target lesion control. With improvements in radiation technology, advanced dose-painting techniques now allow a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) dose to lesions whilst minimising doses to the hippocampus to potentially improve brain tumour control and preserve cognitive outcomes. This technique is abbreviated to HA-SIB-WBRT or HA-WBRT+SIB. METHODS: We hypothesise that the SIB in HA-SIB-WBRT (experimental arm) will result in better tumour control compared to HA-WBRT (control arm). This may also lead to better intracranial disease control as well as functional and survival outcomes. We aim to conduct a prospective randomised phase II trial in patients who have good performance status, multiple brain metastases (4-25 lesions) and a reasonable life expectancy (> 6 months). These patients will be stratified according to the number of brain metastases and randomised between the 2 arms. We aim for a recruitment of 100 patients from a single centre over a period of 2 years. Our primary endpoint is target lesion control. These patients will be followed up over the following year and data on imaging, toxicity, quality of life, activities of daily living and cognitive measurements will be collected at set time points. The results will then be compared across the 2 arms and analysed. DISCUSSION: Patients with brain metastases are living longer. Maintaining functional independence and intracranial disease control is thus increasingly important. Improving radiotherapy treatment techniques could provide better control and survival outcomes whilst maintaining quality of life, cognition and functional capacity. This trial will assess the benefits and possible toxicities of giving a SIB to HA-WBRT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04452084 . Date of registration 30th June 2020.

Automatic planning on hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy.

Mounting evidence suggests that radiation-induced damage to the hippocampus plays a role in neurocognitive decline for patients receiving whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT) has been proposed to reduce the putative neurocognitive deficits by limiting the dose to the hippocampus. However, urgency of palliation for patients as well as the complexities of the treatment planning may be barriers to protocol enrollment to accumulate further clinical evidence. This warrants expedited quality planning of HA-WBRT. Pinnacle3 Automatic treatment planning was designed to increase planning efficiency while maintaining or improving plan quality and consistency. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the performance of the Pinnacle3 Auto-Planning on HA-WBRT treatment planning. Ten patients previously treated for brain metastases were selected. Hippocampal volumes were contoured on T1 magnetic resonance (MR) images, and planning target volumes (PTVs) were generated based on RTOG0933. The following 2 types of plans were generated by Pinnacle3 Auto-Planning: the one with 2 coplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) arcs and the other with 9-field noncoplanar intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). D2% and D98% of PTV were used to calculate homogeneity index (HI). HI and Paddick Conformity index (CI) of PTV as well as D100% and Dmax of the hippocampus were used to evaluate the plan quality. All the auto-plans met the dose coverage and constraint objectives based on RTOG0933. The auto-plans eliminated the necessity of generating pseudostructures by the planners, and it required little manual intervention which expedited the planning process. IMRT quality assurance (QA) results also suggest that all the auto-plans are practically acceptable on delivery. Pinnacle3 Auto-Planning generates acceptable plans by RTOG0933 criteria without time-consuming planning process. The expedited quality planning achieved by Auto-Planning (AP) may facilitate protocol enrollment of patients to further investigate the hippocampal-sparing effect and be used to ensure timely start of palliative treatment in future clinical practice.

Treatment of brain metastases of renal cell cancer with combined hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy and whole brain radiotherapy with hippocampal sparing.

Renal cell cancer patients with brain metastatic disease generally have poor prognosis. Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, targeted therapy or best supportive care with respect to disease burden, patient preference and performance status. In the present case report the radiotherapy technique combining whole brain radiotherapy with hippocampal sparing (hippocampal avoidance whole brain radiotherapy HA-WBRT) and hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) of the brain metastases is performed in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. HA-WBRT was administered to 30 Gy in 10 fractions with sparing of the hippocampal structures and SRT of 21 Gy in 3 fractions to brain metastases which has preceded the HA-WBRT. Two single arc volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) plans were prepared using Monaco planning software. The HA-WBRT treatment plan achieved the following results: D2=33.91 Gy, D98=25.20 Gy, D100=14.18 Gy, D50=31.26 Gy. The homogeneity index was calculated as a deduction of the minimum dose in 2% and 98% of the planning target volume (PTV), divided by the minimum dose in 50% of the PTV. The maximum dose to the hippocampus was 17.50 Gy and mean dose was 11.59 Gy. The following doses to organs at risk (OAR) were achieved: Right opticus Dmax, 31.96 Gy; left opticus Dmax, 30.96 Gy; chiasma D max, 32,76 Gy. The volume of PTV for stereotactic radiotherapy was 3,736 cm3, with coverage D100=20.95 Gy and with only 0.11% of the PTV being irradiated to dose below the prescribed dose. HA-WBRT with SRT represents a feasible technique for radiotherapy of brain metastatic disease, however this technique is considerably demanding on departmental equipment and staff time/experience.