RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There is minimal evidence to support decision making for symptomatic steroid-refractory pseudoprogression or true progression occurring after intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for glioblastoma (GBM). This study audited the survival outcome of patients managed with redo craniotomy (RedoSx) or bevacizumab (BEV) for steroid-refractory mass effect after IMRT for GBM. METHODS: Patients with GBM managed between 2008 and 2019 with the EORTC-NCIC Protocol were entered into a prospective database. Patients with symptomatic steroid-refractory mass effect within 6 months of IMRT managed with either RedoSx or BEV were identified for analysis. For the primary endpoint of median overall survival (OS) postintervention, outcome was analyzed in regards to potential prognostic factors, and differences between groups were assessed by log-rank analyses. RESULTS: Of the 399 patients managed with the EORTC-NCIC Protocol, 78 required an intervention within 6 months of IMRT completion for either true or pseudoprogression (49 with RedoSx and 29 with BEV). Subsequently, 20 of the 43 patients managed with RedoSx when BEV was clinically available, required salvage with BEV within 6 months after RedoSx. Median OS postintervention was 8.7 months (95% CI: 7.84-11.61) for the total group; and 8.7 months (95% CI: 6.8-13.1) for RedoSx and 9.4 months (95% CI: 7.8-13.6) for BEV (P = .38). Subsequent use of BEV in RedoSx patients was not associated with improved survival compared with RedoSx alone (P = .10). Age, time from IMRT, and ECOG performance status were not associated with OS. In the RedoSx patients, immunohistochemical features such as Ki-67% reduction correlated with survival. The presence of pure necrosis and residual tumor cells only had improved survival compared with the presence of gross tumor (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: At time of symptomatic steroid-refractory true or pseudoprogression following IMRT for GBM, BEV was equivalent to RedoSx in terms of OS. Pseudoprogression with residual cells at RedoSx was not associated with worse outcome compared to pure necrosis.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Hippocampal avoidance techniques are an evolving standard of care for patients undergoing cranial irradiation. Our aim was to assess the oncological outcomes and patterns of failure following hippocampal avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) as a standard of care in unselected patients with both limited and extensive stage small cell lung carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with small cell lung carcinoma with a complete (limited stage) or good partial (extensive stage) response following chemotherapy were eligible to receive HA-PCI, with a total dose of 25 Gray in 10 fractions. All patients had a negative baseline MRI brain scan with gadolinium prior to HA-PCI. Patients had baseline and follow up Common Toxicity Criteria Adverse Event assessments. Following completion of HA-PCI, all patients had three-monthly MRI brain scans with gadolinium until confirmation of intracranial relapse, as well as three-monthly CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis. Overall and progression-free survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 17 consecutive patients, 9 men and 8 women, with a mean age of 70 years received HA-PCI between May 2016 and June 2020 after completion of their initial chemotherapy. There were no Grade 4 or greater adverse events. No patient had an isolated hippocampal avoidance zone relapse alone; three of 17 patients had multifocal relapses that included the hippocampal avoidance zone. CONCLUSION: In our series, there were no hippocampal only relapses and we conclude that HA-PCI is a safe alternative to standard PCI in the setting of small cell lung cancer.