Early salvage hormonal therapy for biochemical failure improved survival in prostate cancer patients after neoadjuvant hormonal therapy plus radiation therapy--a secondary analysis of irish clinical oncology research group 97-01.

PURPOSE: To assess the survival benefit of early vs late salvage hormonal therapy (HT), we performed a secondary analysis on patients who developed recurrence from Irish Clinical Oncology Research Group 97-01, a randomized trial comparing 4 vs 8 months neoadjuvant HT plus radiation therapy (RT) in intermediate- and high-risk prostate adenocarcinoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 102 patients from the trial who recurred were analyzed at a median follow-up of 8.5 years. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the timing of salvage HT: 57 patients had prostate-specific antigen (PSA)≤10 ng/mL and absent distant metastases (group 1, early), 21 patients had PSA>10 ng/mL and absent distant metastases (group 2, late), and 24 patients had distant metastases (group 3, late). The endpoint analyzed was overall survival (OS) calculated from 2 different time points: date of enrolment in the trial (OS1) and date of initiation of salvage HT (OS2). Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves and a Cox regression model. RESULTS: The OS1 differed significantly between groups (P<.0005): OS1 at 10 years was 78% in group 1, 42% in group 2, and 29% in group 3. The OS2 also differed significantly between groups (P<.0005): OS2 at 6 years was 70% in group 1, 47% in group 2, and 22% in group 3. Group 1 had the longest median time from end of RT to biochemical failure compared with groups 2 and 3 (3.3, 0.9, and 1.7 years, respectively; P<.0005). Group 1 also had the longest median PSA doubling time compared with groups 2 and 3 (9.9, 3.6, and 2.4 months, respectively; P<.0005). On multivariate analysis, timing of salvage HT, time from end of RT to biochemical failure, and PSA nadir on salvage HT were significant predictors of survival. CONCLUSION: Early salvage HT based on PSA≤10 ng/mL and absent distant metastases improved survival in patients with prostate cancer after failure of initial treatment with neoadjuvant HT plus RT.

Extreme-risk prostate adenocarcinoma presenting with prostate-specific antigen (PSA)>40 ng/ml: prognostic significance of the preradiation PSA nadir.

PURPOSE: To examine the impact of patient, disease, and treatment characteristics on survival outcomes in patients treated with neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and radical external-beam radiotherapy (RT) for clinically localized, extreme-risk prostate adenocarcinoma with a presenting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration of >40 ng/ml. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 64 patients treated at a single institution between 1991 and 2000 with ADT and RT for prostate cancer with a presenting PSA level of >40 ng/ml. The effects of patient age, tumor (presenting PSA level, Gleason score, and T stage), and treatment (total ADT duration and pre-RT PSA level) characteristics on rates of biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS), prostate cancer-specific survival (PCSS), and overall survival (OS) were examined. RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 6.45 years (range, 0.09-15.19 years). Actuarial bDFS, PCSS, and OS rates at 5 years were 39%, 87%, and 78%, respectively, and 17%, 64%, and 45%, respectively, at 10 years. On multivariate analysis, the pre-RT PSA level (≤0.1 versus >0.1 ng/ml) was the single most significant prognostic factor for bDFS (p=0.033) and OS (p=0.018) rates, whereas age, T stage, Gleason score, and ADT duration (≤6 versus >6 months) were not predictive of outcomes. CONCLUSION: In prostate cancer patients with high presenting PSA levels, >40 ng/ml, treated with combined modality, neoadjuvant ADT, and RT, the pre-RT PSA nadir, rather than ADT duration, was significantly associated with improved survival. This observation supports the use of neoadjuvant ADT to drive PSA levels to below 0.1 ng/ml before initiation of RT, to optimize outcomes for patients with extreme-risk disease.

Treatment outcomes of locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer: a comparison between combined modality radio-chemotherapy and two variants of single modality altered fractionation radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To compare outcomes in patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer treated with radio-chemotherapy (RT-CT), accelerated fractionation radiotherapy (AccRT), or hypofractionated radiotherapy (HypoRT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Subjects were 321 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed oropharyngeal cancer, Stage III or IVA/B, treated between January 2001 and December 2005 at the BC Cancer Agency with RT-CT (n = 157), AccRT (n = 57), or HypoRT (n = 107). Outcomes examined were disease-specific survival (DSS), locoregional control (LRC), overall survival (OS), rate of G-tube use, and rate of hospitalization for acute complications. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 3.4 years. Three-year Kaplan-Meier DSS with RT-CT, AccRT, and HypoRT were 80%, 81%, and 74%, respectively (p = 0.219). Cox regression analysis identified treatment modality as a significant factor affecting DSS (p = 0.038). Compared with RT-CT, the hazard ratio (HR) for DSS was 1.0 with AccRT and 2.0 with HypoRT (p = 0.021). Kaplan-Meier pairwise comparisons found no significant difference in LRC and OS between RT-CT and AccRT. HypoRT was associated with significantly lower LRC (p = 0.005) and OS (p = 0.008) compared with RT-CT. There were significant differences in the rates of G-tube use (p < 0.001) and of hospitalization (p = 0.036) among the three treatment groups, with the most frequent rates observed in the RT-CT group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer, AccRT conferred DSS, LRC, and OS comparable to that of RT-CT. Patients treated with RT-CT experienced higher rates of treatment-related acute toxicities. HypoRT was associated with the least favorable outcomes.

Does a three-field electron/minitangent photon technique offer dosimetric advantages to a multifield, photon-only technique for accelerated partial breast irradiation?

PURPOSE: To determine whether 3-field electron/minitangent photons (mixed-modality) technique improved dosimetry compared with a multifield, photon-only technique for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 20 breast cancer patients previously treated with photon-only APBI as part of a clinical trial to a dose of 38.5Gy/10 fractions in 5 days. Mixed-modality replans were compared with the photon-only plans with regards to planning target volume (PTV) coverage, conformity, homogeneity, and doses to normal tissues. RESULTS: The mixed-modality plans had similar PTV coverage, with more conformality, and reduced the volume of the ipsilateral breast receiving > or =95% and > or =50% doses, but had the pitfalls of less homogeneity and increased exposure of the ipsilateral lung and heart receiving low-dose radiation because of the exit dose of the electron beam. Factors associated with this increase were medial/deep-seated tumor beds, large tumor beds with PTV/Ipsilateral Breast ratio >20%, and use of high energy electrons. CONCLUSIONS: The three-field electron/minitangent photon APBI technique was more conformal and reduced the dose to the ipsilateral breast but had the disadvantage of exposing increased volumes of heart and ipsilateral lung to low-dose radiation compared with the photon-only technique.