Alleviating Morbidity From Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Using a Practical and Short Radiation Therapy Regimen: Results of the HYPORT Palliative Studies.

PURPOSE: Locally advanced breast cancers lead to debilitating local symptoms. Treatment of these women encountered commonly in less resourced countries is not backed by strong evidence. We formulated the  HYPORT and HYPORT B phase 1/2 studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of hypofractionated palliative breast radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Two studies (35 Gy/10 fractions; HYPORT ) and (26 Gy to breast/32 Gy tumor boost in 5 fractions; HYPORT B) were designed with increasing hypofractionation to save overall treatment time from 10 to 5 days. We report the acute toxicity, symptomatic, metabolic response, and quality of life (QOL) changes after radiation therapy. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients, the majority of whom were pretreated with systemic therapy, completed the treatment. No grade 3 toxicity was reported. Response assessment at 3 months showed improvement in ulceration (58% vs 22%, P = .013) and bleeding (22% vs 0%, P = .074) within the HYPORT study. Similarly, in the HYPORT B study, ulceration (64% and 39%, P = .2), fungating (26% and 0%, P = .041), bleeding (26% and 4.3%, P = .074), and discharge (57% and 8.7%, P = .003) was reduced. Metabolic response was noted in 90% and 83% of patients, respectively, in the 2 studies. Improvement in the QOL scores were evident in both studies. Only 10% of the patients relapsed locally within 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Palliative ultrahypofractionated radiation therapy to the breast is well tolerated, is effective, and results in a durable response with improved QOL. This could be considered a standard for locoregional symptom control.

Prioritizing Delivery of Cancer Treatment During a COVID-19 Lockdown: The Experience of a Clinical Oncology Service in India.

PURPOSE: A COVID-19 lockdown in India posed significant challenges to the continuation of radiotherapy (RT) and systemic therapy services. Although several COVID-19 service guidelines have been promulgated, implementation data are yet unavailable. We performed a comprehensive audit of the implementation of services in a clinical oncology department. METHODS: A departmental protocol of priority-based treatment guidance was developed, and a departmental staff rotation policy was implemented. Data were collected for the period of lockdown on outpatient visits, starting, and delivery of RT and systemic therapy. Adherence to protocol was audited, and factors affecting change from pre-COVID standards analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Outpatient consults dropped by 58%. Planned RT starts were implemented in 90%, 100%, 92%, 90%, and 75% of priority level 1-5 patients. Although 17% had a deferred start, the median time to start of adjuvant RT and overall treatment times were maintained. Concurrent chemotherapy was administered in 89% of those eligible. Systemic therapy was administered to 84.5% of planned patients. However, 33% and 57% of curative and palliative patients had modifications in cycle duration or deferrals. The patient's inability to come was the most common reason for RT or ST deviation. Factors independently associated with a change from pre-COVID practice was priority-level allocation for RT and age and palliative intent for systemic therapy. CONCLUSION: Despite significant access limitations, a planned priority-based system of delivery of treatment could be implemented.