More Is Not Better When It Comes to Treating Rectal Cancer With Multimodal Chemoradiation Beyond the Standard Radiation Dose of 5040 cGy.

BACKGROUND: Radiation dose schedules for neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal cancers differ, with the most common dose schedule using 5040 cGy in 28 fractions. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the benefit of higher radiation doses beyond 5040 cGy in the context of pathological response and follow-up events. SETTING: The database from a provincial tertiary cancer center in Canada was the source of information for this study. PATIENTS: Included in this study were 508 consecutive patients with rectal cancer with locally advanced disease (clinical T3/T4 or N1/N2) who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery. Of the 508 patients, 281 received the standard radiation dose of 4500 to 5040 cGy and 227 received a dose >5040 cGy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The postsurgical pathology, late toxicities, and follow-up outcomes were analyzed. The outcomes were evaluated in relation to the dose of radiation received. RESULTS: Data regarding the clinical outcomes were comparable between the 4500 to 5040 cGy and >5040 cGy radiation groups with pathological complete response rates of 20.9% and 15.4% (p = 0.104); distant recurrence rates of 17.4% and 19.4% (p = 0.36); local recurrence rates of 3.2% and 3.5% (p = 0.36); and the median overall survival rates of 61 and 60.5 months (p = 0.8). No statistically significant correlation of improvement in outcomes was noted with radiation doses beyond 5040 cGy. LIMITATIONS: This is a retrospective study. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that dose escalation beyond the standard dose of 4500 to 5040cGy failed to achieve meaningful clinical outcomes. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B633. MS NO ES MEJOR CUANDO SE TRATA DE TRATAR EL CNCER DE RECTO CON QUIMIORRADIACIN MULTIMODAL MS ALL DE LA DOSIS DE RADIACIN ESTNDAR DE CGY: ANTECEDENTES:En neoadyuvancia de cáncer rectal es posible encontrar muchas variaciones, en radioterapia la dosis más común que usa 5040 cGy en 28 fracciones.OBJETIVOS:El objetivo de este estudio retrospectivo fue evaluar el beneficio de dosis de radiación más altas más allá de 5040cGy en el contexto de la respuesta patológica y en su seguimiento.AJUSTE:Base de datos de un centro de cáncer terciario provincial en Canadá.PACIENTES:Se incluyeron en este estudio quinientos ocho pacientes consecutivos con cáncer de recto y enfermedad localmente avanzada (clínica T3 / T4 o N1 / N2) que recibieron quimiorradiación neoadyuvante seguida de cirugía. De los 508 pacientes, 281 recibieron la dosis de radiación estándar de 4500-5040 cGy y 227 recibieron una dosis > 5040 cGy.PRINCIPAL MEDIDA DE RESULTADO:Se analizo evolucion posquirúrgica, toxicidad tardía y seguimiento. Los resultados se evaluaron en relación con la dosis de radiación recibida.RESULTADOS:Los datos con respecto a los resultados clínicos fueron comparables entre los grupos de radiación de 4500-5040 cGy y> 5040 cGy con tasas de respuesta patológica completa de 20,9% y 15,4% respectivamente (p = 0,104); tasas de recurrencia a distancia de 17,4% y 19,4%, respectivamente (p = 0,36); tasas de recurrencia local de 3,2% y 3,5%, respectivamente (p = 0,36); y la mediana de las tasas de supervivencia global de 61 y 60,5 meses, respectivamente (p = 0,8). No se observó una correlación estadísticamente significativa de mejoría en los resultados con dosis de radiación superiores a 5040 cGy.LIMITACIONES:Este es un estudio retrospectivo.CONCLUSIONES:Nuestro estudio mostró que el aumento de la dosis más allá de la dosis estándar de 4500-5040cGy no logró resultados clínicos significativos. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B633. (Traducción-Dr. Gunther Bocic).

Estimating prognosis at the time of repeat whole brain radiation therapy for multiple brain metastases: The reirradiation score.

PURPOSE: Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) remains the standard of care for patients with multiple brain metastases, but more than half of treated patients will develop intracranial progression. Because there is no clear consensus on the optimal therapeutic approach, a prognostic index would be helpful to guide treatment options at progression. We explored whether the recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) score prior to repeat WBRT is predictive of survival. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This multi-institutional pooled analysis included patients with 2 or more brain metastases from any solid primary tumor that was treated with 2 courses of WBRT. Information on demographics, disease characteristics, and intervals between courses was collected. RPA class was abstracted or retrospectively assigned, and descriptive statistics calculated. Median survival (MS) was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log rank tests. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed via Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: For 205 patients, the median age was 55 years (range, 25-83 years), 68% were female, 40.5% had non-small cell lung cancer, and 31.2% had small cell lung cancer. Prior to the second WBRT, 4.9% of patients were RPA class 1, 36.6% were RPA2, and 58.5% were RPA3, with an MS of 7.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.7-10.3), 5.2 months (95% CI, 3.7-6.7 months), and 2.9 months (95% CI, 2.2-2.9 months), respectively (P = .001). On univariate and multivariate analyses, a Karnofsky Performance Status of <80, extracranial metastases, interval between courses <9 months, small cell lung cancer histology, and uncontrolled primary significantly correlated with shorter MS. By assigning a score of 1 to each of these factors, a new prognostic index was created, the reirradiation (ReRT) score. Survival on the basis of ReRT score grouping ranged from 2.2 to 7.2 months and demonstrated significant differences in MS. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest reported cohort to receive repeat WBRT, application of the RPA score was not predictive of MS. The new ReRT score is a simple tool based on readily available clinical information.