Reirradiation With Proton Therapy for Recurrent Malignancies of the Esophagus and Gastroesophageal Junction: Results of the Proton Collaborative Group Multi-Institutional Prospective Registry Trial.

Purpose: Treatment options for recurrent esophageal cancer (EC) previously treated with radiation therapy (RT) are limited. Reirradiation (reRT) with proton beam therapy (PBT) can offer lower toxicities by limiting doses to surrounding tissues. In this study, we present the first multi-institutional series reporting on toxicities and outcomes after reRT for locoregionally recurrent EC with PBT. Methods and Materials: Analysis of the prospective, multicenter, Proton Collaborative Group registry of patients with recurrent EC who had previously received photon-based RT and underwent PBT reRT was performed. Patient/tumor characteristics, treatment details, outcomes, and toxicities were collected. Local control (LC), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Event time was determined from reRT start. Results: Between 2012 and 2020, 31 patients received reRT via uniform scanning/passive scattering (61.3%) or pencil beam scanning (38.7%) PBT at 7 institutions. Median prior RT, PBT reRT, and cumulative doses were 50.4 Gy (range, 37.5-110.4), 48.6 Gy (relative biological effectiveness) (25.2-72.1), and 99.9 Gy (79.1-182.5), respectively. Of these patients, 12.9% had 2 prior RT courses, and 67.7% received PBT with concurrent chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 7.2 months (0.9-64.7). Post-PBT, there were 16.7% locoregional only, 11.1% distant only, and 16.7% locoregional and distant recurrences. Six-month LC, DMFS, and OS were 80.5%, 83.4%, and 69.1%, respectively. One-year LC, DMFS, and OS were 67.1%, 83.4%, and 27%, respectively. Acute grade ≥3 toxicities occurred in 23% of patients, with 1 acute grade 5 toxicity secondary to esophageal hemorrhage, unclear if related to reRT or disease progression. No grade ≥3 late toxicities were reported. Conclusions: In the largest report to date of PBT for reRT in patients with recurrent EC, we observed acceptable acute toxicities and encouraging rates of disease control. However, these findings are limited by the poor prognoses of these patients, who are at high risk of mortality. Further research is needed to better assess the long-term benefits and toxicities of PBT in this specific patient population.

Predicting the Effect of Proton Beam Therapy Technology on Pulmonary Toxicities for Patients With Locally Advanced Lung Cancer Enrolled in the Proton Collaborative Group Prospective Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to predict the probability of grade ≥2 pneumonitis or dyspnea within 12 months of receiving conventionally fractionated or mildly hypofractionated proton beam therapy for locally advanced lung cancer using machine learning. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Demographic and treatment characteristics were analyzed for 965 consecutive patients treated for lung cancer with conventionally fractionated or mildly hypofractionated (2.2-3 Gy/fraction) proton beam therapy across 12 institutions. Three machine learning models (gradient boosting, additive tree, and logistic regression with lasso regularization) were implemented to predict Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4 grade ≥2 pulmonary toxicities using double 10-fold cross-validation for parameter hyper-tuning without leak of information. Balanced accuracy and area under the curve were calculated, and 95% confidence intervals were obtained using bootstrap sampling. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 70 years (range, 20-97), and they had predominantly stage IIIA or IIIB disease. They received a median dose of 60 Gy in 2 Gy/fraction, and 46.4% received concurrent chemotherapy. In total, 250 (25.9%) had grade ≥2 pulmonary toxicity. The probability of pulmonary toxicity was 0.08 for patients treated with pencil beam scanning and 0.34 for those treated with other techniques (P = 8.97e-13). Use of abdominal compression and breath hold were highly significant predictors of less toxicity (P = 2.88e-08). Higher total radiation delivered dose (P = .0182) and higher average dose to the ipsilateral lung (P = .0035) increased the likelihood of pulmonary toxicities. The gradient boosting model performed the best of the models tested, and when demographic and dosimetric features were combined, the area under the curve and balanced accuracy were 0.75 ± 0.02 and 0.67 ± 0.02, respectively. After analyzing performance versus the number of data points used for training, we observed that accuracy was limited by the number of observations. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest analysis of prospectively enrolled patients with lung cancer assessing pulmonary toxicities from proton therapy to date, advanced machine learning methods revealed that pencil beam scanning, abdominal compression, and lower normal lung doses can lead to significantly lower probability of developing grade ≥2 pneumonitis or dyspnea.

Clinical outcomes and toxicities of 100 patients treated with proton therapy for chordoma on the proton collaborative group prospective registry.

BACKGROUND: We present efficacy and toxicity outcomes among patients with chordoma treated on the Proton Collaborative Group prospective registry. METHODS: Consecutive chordoma patients treated between 2010-2018 were evaluated. One hundred fifty patients were identified, 100 had adequate follow-up information. Locations included base of skull (61%), spine (23%), and sacrum (16%). Patients had a performance status of ECOG 0-1 (82%) and median age of 58 years. Eighty-five percent of patients underwent surgical resection. The median proton RT dose was 74 Gy (RBE) (range 21-86 Gy (RBE)) using passive scatter proton RT (PS-PBT) (13%), uniform scanning proton RT (US-PBT) (54%) and pencil beam scanning proton RT (PBS-PBT) (33%). Rates of local control (LC), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and acute and late toxicities were assessed. RESULTS: 2/3-year LC, PFS, and OS rates are 97%/94%, 89%/74%, and 89%/83%, respectively. LC did not differ based on surgical resection (p = 0.61), though this is likely limited by most patients having undergone a prior resection. Eight patients experienced acute grade 3 toxicities, most commonly pain (n = 3), radiation dermatitis (n = 2), fatigue (n = 1), insomnia (n = 1) and dizziness (n = 1). No grade ≥ 4 acute toxicities were reported. No grade ≥ 3 late toxicities were reported, and most common grade 2 toxicities were fatigue (n = 5), headache (n = 2), CNS necrosis (n = 1), and pain (n = 1). CONCLUSIONS: In our series, PBT achieved excellent safety and efficacy outcomes with very low rates of treatment failure. CNS necrosis is exceedingly low (<1%) despite the high doses of PBT delivered. Further maturation of data and larger patient numbers are necessary to optimize therapy in chordoma.

Proton therapy for isolated local regional recurrence of breast cancer after mastectomy alone.

Purpose/Objectives: To assess adverse events (AEs) and disease-specific outcomes after proton therapy for isolated local-regional recurrence (LRR) of breast cancer after mastectomy without prior radiotherapy (RT). Materials/Methods: Patients were identified from a multi-institutional prospective registry and included if diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, initially underwent mastectomy without adjuvant RT, experienced an LRR, and subsequently underwent salvage treatment, including proton therapy. Follow-up and cancer outcomes were measured from the date of RT completion. Results: Nineteen patients were included. Seventeen patients were treated with proton therapy to the chest wall and comprehensive regional lymphatics (17/19, 90%). Maximum grade AE was grade 2 in 13 (69%) patients and grade 3 in 4 (21%) patients. All patients with grade 3 AE received > 60 GyE (p=0.04, Spearman correlation coefficient=0.5). At the last follow-up, 90% of patients were alive with no LRR or distant recurrence. Conclusions: For breast cancer patients with isolated LRR after initial mastectomy without adjuvant RT, proton therapy is well-tolerated in the salvage setting with excellent loco-regional control. All grade 3 AEs occurred in patients receiving > 60 GyE.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma Treated with Proton Beam Therapy Reirradiation: Analysis of the Multi-Institutional Proton Collaborative Group Registry.

PURPOSE: As a means of limiting normal tissue toxicity, proton-beam therapy (PBT) is an emerging radiation modality for glioblastoma (GBM) reirradiation. However, data for recurrent GBM treated with PBT reirradiation is limited. Therefore, we analyzed treatment patterns, toxicities, and clinical outcomes of patients with recurrent GBM treated with PBT reirradiation using the multi-institutional Proton Collaborative Group registry. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Prospectively collected data for patients with recurrent GBM who underwent PBT while enrolled in Proton Collaborative Group study 01-009 (NCT01255748) were analyzed. We evaluated overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity. Toxicities were scored per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. Descriptive statistics were used to report patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics. Multivariable analyses (MVA) for toxicity were conducted using logistic regression. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate OS and PFS. MVA for OS and PFS was conducted using Cox proportional-hazards models. The SAS statistical software was used for the analysis. RESULTS: We identified 45 recurrent patients with GBM who underwent PBT reirradiation between 2012 and 2018. The median time between initial GBM diagnosis and recurrence was 20.2 months. The median follow-up time from PBT reirradiation was 10.7 months. Median PFS was 13.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.23-20.0 months) and median OS was 14.2 months (95% CI, 9.6-16.9 months) after PBT reirradiation. One patient experienced an acute grade 3 toxicity, 4 patients experienced late grade 3 toxicity (no grade ≥4 toxicities). MVA revealed that prior surgery was associated with a 91.3% decreased hazard of death (hazard ratio: 0.087; 95% CI, 0.02-0.42; P < .01). No explanatory variables were associated with PFS or grade 3 toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest series to date reporting outcomes for PBT reirradiation of patients with recurrent GBM. Our analysis indicates that PBT is well tolerated and offers efficacy rates comparable with previously reported photon reirradiation.

Development of a Comprehensive, Contour-Based, Peer Review Workflow at a Community Proton Center.

PURPOSE: Quality assurance and continuing quality improvement are integral parts of any radiation oncology practice. With increasingly conformal radiation treatments, it has become critical to focus on every slice of the target contour to ensure adequate tumor coverage and optimal normal tissue sparing. Proton therapy centers open internationally with increasing frequency, and radiation oncologists with varying degrees of subspecialization apply proton therapy in daily practice. Precise treatment with proton therapy allows us to limit toxicity but requires in-depth knowledge of the unique properties of proton beam delivery. To address this need at our proton therapy center, we developed a comprehensive peer review program to help improve the quality of care that we were providing for our patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We implemented a policy of comprehensive peer review for all patients treated at our community proton facility starting in January 2013. Peer review begins at the time of referral with prospective cases being reviewed for appropriateness for proton therapy at daily rounds. There is then biweekly review of target contouring and treatment plans. RESULTS: During a 6-month period from June 2013 to November 2013, a total of 223 new patients were treated. Documentation of peer review at chart rounds was completed for 222 of the 223 patients (99.6%). An average of 10.7 cases were reviewed in each biweekly chart rounds session, with a total of 560 case presentations. The average time required for contour review was 145 seconds (±71 seconds) and plan review was 120 seconds (±64 seconds). Modifications were suggested for 21 patients (7.9%) during contour review and for 19 patients (6.4%) during treatment plan review. An average of 4 physicians were present at each session. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the implementation of a comprehensive, prospective peer review program is feasible in the community setting. This article can serve as a framework for future quality assurance programs.

Acute toxicities after proton beam therapy following breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer: Multi-institutional prospective PCG registry analysis.

We investigated adverse events (AEs) and clinical outcomes for proton beam therapy (PBT) after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for breast cancer. From 2012 to 2016, 82 patients received PBT in the prospective multi-institutional Proton Collaborative Group registry. AEs were recorded prospectively at each institution. Median follow-up was 8.1 months. Median dose was 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions. Most patients received a lumpectomy bed boost (90%) and regional nodal irradiation (RNI)(83%). Six patients (7.3%) experienced grade 3 AEs (5 with dermatitis, 5 with breast pain). Body mass index (BMI) was associated with grade 3 dermatitis (P = .015). Fifty-eight patients (70.7%) experienced grade ≥2 dermatitis. PBT including RNI after BCS is well-tolerated. Elevated BMI is associated with grade 3 dermatitis.

A Multi-Institutional Experience of Proton Beam Therapy for Sinonasal Tumors.

PURPOSE: To report the outcomes of sinonasal tumors treated with proton beam therapy (PBT) on the Proton Collaborative Group registry study. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Sixty-nine patients with sinonasal tumors underwent curative intent PBT between 2010 and 2016. Patients who received de novo irradiation (42 patients) were analyzed separately from those who received reirradiation (27 patients) (re-RT). Median age was 53.1 years (range, 15.7-82.1; de novo) and 57.4 years (range, 31.3-88.0; re-RT). The most common histology was squamous cell carcinoma in both groups. Median PBT dose was 58.5 Gy (RBE) (range, 12-78.3; de novo) and 60.0 Gy (RBE) (range 18.2-72.3; re-RT), and median dose per fraction was 2.0 Gy (RBE) for both cohorts. Survival estimates for patients who received de novo irradiation and those who received re-RT were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Median follow-up for surviving patients was 26.4 months (range, 3.5-220.5). The 3-year overall survival (OS), freedom from distant metastasis, freedom from disease progression, and freedom from locoregional recurrence (FFLR) for de novo irradiation were 100%, 84.0%, 77.3%, and 92.9%, respectively. With re-RT, the 3-year OS, freedom from distant metastasis, FFDP, and FFLR were 76.2%, 47.4%, 32.1%, and 33.8%, respectively. In addition, 12 patients (17.4%) experienced recurrent disease. Re-RT was associated with inferior FFLR (P = .04). On univariate analysis, squamous cell carcinoma was associated with inferior OS (P < .01) for patients receiving re-RT. There were 11 patients with acute grade 3 toxicities. Late toxicities occurred in 15% of patients, with no grade ≥3 toxicities. No patients developed vision loss or symptomatic brain necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: As one of the largest studies of sinonasal tumors treated with PBT, our findings suggest that PBT may be a safe and efficacious treatment option for patients with sinonasal tumors.

Proton beam therapy reirradiation for breast cancer: Multi-institutional prospective PCG registry analysis.

To investigate adverse events (AEs, CTCAE v4.0) and clinical outcomes for proton beam therapy (PBT) reirradiation (reRT) for breast cancer. From 2011 to 2016, 50 patients received PBT reRT for breast cancer in the prospective Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) registry. Acute AEs occurred within 180 days from start of reRT. Late AEs began or persisted beyond 180 days. Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney rank-sum tests were utilized. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate overall survival (OS) and local recurrence-free survival (LFRS). Median follow-up was 12.7 months (0-41.8). Median prior RT dose was 60 Gy (10-96.7). Median reRT dose was 55.1 Gy (45.1-76.3). Median cumulative dose was 110.6 Gy (70.6-156.8). Median interval between RT courses was 103.8 months (5.5-430.8). ReRT included regional nodes in 84% (66% internal mammary node [IMN]). Surgery included the following: 44% mastectomy, 22% wide local excision, 6% lumpectomy, 2% reduction mammoplasty, and 26% no surgery. Grade 3 AEs were experienced by 16% of patients (10% acute, 8% late) and were associated with body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2 (P = 0.04), bilateral recurrence (P = 0.02), and bilateral reRT (P = 0.004). All grade 3 AEs occurred in patients receiving IMN reRT (P = 0.08). At 1 year, LRFS was 93%, and OS was 97%. Patients with gross disease at time of PBT trended toward worse 1-year LRFS (100% without vs. 84% with, P = 0.06). PBT reRT is well tolerated with favorable local control. BMI > 30, bilateral disease, and IMN reRT were associated with grade 3 AEs. Toxicity was acceptable despite median cumulative dose > 110 Gy.

Proton therapy for thymic malignancies: multi-institutional patterns-of-care and early clinical outcomes from the proton collaborative group and the university of Florida prospective registries.

Objective: Thymic malignancies (TM) are rare tumors with long-term survivorship, causing concerns for radiotherapy-related late side effects. Proton therapy (PT) reduces the radiation dose to organs at risk, potentially decreasing long-term toxicities while preserving disease control. We report patterns-of-care and early clinical outcomes after PT for thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Methods: Between January 2008 and March 2017, 30 patients with TMs enrolled on one of two IRB-approved prospective protocols and received postoperative or definitive PT. Clinical outcomes, pathology, treatment dose, toxicities, and follow-up information were analyzed. Results: Twenty-two thymoma patients with a median age of 52.1 years (range, 23-72) received a median RT dose of 54 Gy (RBE) (range, 45-70) either postoperatively (91%) or definitively (9%); 23% received adjuvant chemotherapy. Among eight thymic carcinoma patients, the median age was 65.5 years (range, 38-88) and median RT dose was 60 Gy (RBE) (range, 42-70) delivered postoperatively (75%) or definitively (25%); 50% received chemotherapy. Median follow-up for all patients was 13 months (range, 2-59 months). Five patients relapsed, one locally (3%). Three patients died of disease progression, including two thymomas and one thymic carcinoma patient; a fourth died of intercurrent disease. One patient with thymic carcinoma and 1 with thymoma are alive with disease. No patients treated with PT for their initial disease (de novo) experienced grade ≥3 toxicities. The most common grade 2 toxicities were dermatitis (37%), cough (13%), and esophagitis (10%). Conclusion: Adjuvant and definitive PT are being used in the treatment of TMs. Early results of the largest such cohort reported to date demonstrates an acceptable rate of recurrence with a favorable toxicity profile. Longer follow-up and a larger patient cohort are needed to confirm these findings.

Dose-painted intensity-modulated radiation therapy for anal cancer: a multi-institutional report of acute toxicity and response to therapy.

PURPOSE: Chemoradiation for anal cancer yields effective tumor control, but is associated with significant acute toxicity. We report our multi-institutional experience using dose-painted IMRT (DP-IMRT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between August 2005 and May 2009, 43 patients were treated with DP-IMRT and concurrent chemotherapy for biopsy-proven, squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal at two academic medical centers. DP-IMRT was prescribed as follows: T2N0: 42 Gy, 1.5 Gy/fraction (fx) to elective nodal planning target volume (PTV) and 50.4 Gy, 1.8 Gy/fx to anal tumor PTV; T3-4N0-3: 45 Gy, 1.5 Gy/fx to elective nodal PTV, and 54 Gy, 1.8 Gy/fx to the anal tumor and metastatic nodal PTV >3 cm with 50.4 Gy, 1.68 Gy/fx to nodal PTVs ≤ 3 cm in size. Acute and late toxicity was reported by the treating physician. Actuarial analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Median age was 58 years; 67% female; 16% Stage I, 37% II; 42% III; 5% IV. Fourteen patients were immunocompromised: 21% HIV-positive and 12% on chronic immunosuppression. Median follow-up was 24 months (range, 0.6-43.5 months). Sixty percent completed chemoradiation without treatment interruption; median duration of treatment interruption was 2 days (range, 2-24 days). Acute Grade 3+ toxicity included: hematologic 51%, dermatologic 10%, gastrointestinal 7%, and genitourinary 7%. Two-year local control, overall survival, colostomy-free survival, and metastasis-free survival were 95%, 94%, 90%, and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Dose-painted IMRT appears effective and well-tolerated as part of a chemoradiation therapy regimen for the treatment of anal canal cancer.

Long-term clinical outcomes following treatment of childhood craniopharyngioma.

PURPOSE: To review our institution's experience with treatment of craniopharyngioma in children, and to report long-term treatment outcomes stratified by treatment era to assess whether modern treatment techniques result in improvements in local control and survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 100 children who underwent surgery for craniopharygioma at Children's Hospital Boston (CHB) from August 1976 to March 2003. Of these, 79 children (median age 8.5 years) had initial treatment at CHB and sufficient follow-up data to be included in this analysis. We report their treatment course, recurrence rates, and treatment-related morbidity. We compared the results in two different treatment eras based on changes in surgical approach at CHB. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients underwent initial treatment with surgery alone; 63% treated prior to 1988 recurred and 36% treated after 1988 recurred. Recurrence rates following combined modality therapy (CMT) with limited surgery followed by radiation were 21 and 5% in the pre- and post-1988 eras, respectively. Accounting for treatment era, patients treated with surgery alone were 7.7 times as likely to recur as those treated with CMT (95%CI: 2.0, 28.7). In the Cox regression model, there was no significant difference in local control or overall survival based on treatment era; initial treatment remained the only statistically significant variable (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Advancements in treatment techniques have improved local control in children diagnosed with craniopharyngioma. The excellent survival rates necessitate long-term patient follow-up to identify and manage any treatment-related effects, including second tumors, vascular abnormalities, and endocrinopathies.

Androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer and the risk of cardiovascular mortality.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) use is associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes in patients treated for localized prostate cancer. METHODS: From the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor database, data on 3262 patients treated with radical prostatectomy and 1630 patients treated with external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, or cryotherapy for localized prostate cancer were included in this analysis. Competing risks regression analyses were performed to assess whether use of ADT was associated with a shorter time to death from cardiovascular causes after controlling for age (as a continuous variable) and the presence of baseline cardiovascular disease risk factors. All tests for statistical significance were two-sided. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 3.8 years (range = 0.1-11.3 years). Among the 1015 patients who received ADT, the median duration of ADT use was 4.1 months (range = 1.0-32.9 months). In a competing risks regression analysis that controlled for age and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, both ADT use (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4 to 4.7; P = .002) and age (adjusted HR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.1; P = .003) were associated with statistically significantly increased risks of death from cardiovascular causes in patients treated with radical prostatectomy. Among patients 65 years or older treated with radical prostatectomy, the 5-year cumulative incidence of cardiovascular death was 5.5% (95% CI = 1.2% to 9.8%) in those who received ADT and 2.0% (95% CI = 1.1% to 3.0%) in those who did not. Among patients 65 years or older treated with external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, or cryotherapy, ADT use was associated with a higher cumulative incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The use of ADT appears to be associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant hodgkin lymphoma.

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), a distinct subtype of Hodgkin lymphoma, is a rare disease with a generally favorable prognosis. The hallmark of NLPHL is the presence of the lymphocytic and histiocytic cell, which, in contrast to the classic Reed-Sternberg cell, is CD20+, CD15-, and CD30-. NLPHL tends to have an indolent natural history, a long time to disease progression, a delayed time to relapse, and a high likelihood of presenting as early-stage disease. The evidence to guide the management of patients with NLPHL is limited by the rarity of this disease, but the available data support the use of involved-field radiation therapy alone for localized disease. Treatment-related late effects contribute significantly to the causes of death in patients treated for NLPHL.

Association of statin use with improved local control in patients treated with selective bladder preservation for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether statin use improves local control (LC) in patients undergoing organ-preserving trimodality therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 286 patients with muscle-invasive, transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder treated with maximal transurethral resection of the bladder tumor followed by chemoradiotherapy from 1986 to 2003 at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients with a complete response after induction chemoradiotherapy received consolidation chemoradiotherapy and those with an incomplete response underwent cystectomy. Of the 286 patients, 35 (12%) were known to be taking a statin during chemoradiotherapy. LC was defined as freedom from the development of muscle-invasive bladder cancer or superficial bladder cancer necessitating cystectomy. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 2.7 years for all patients and 3.1 years for survivors. The overall 5-year LC rate was 55%. On univariate analysis, tumor stage, completeness of transurethral resection of the bladder tumor, hydronephrosis, chemotherapy type, treatment era, and statin use were significantly associated with LC. The 5-year LC rate for patients taking a statin was 73% versus 52% for patients not taking a statin (P = 0.04). On multivariate analysis incorporating covariates that were statistically significant (P < 0.05) on univariate analysis, only chemotherapy with cisplatin (P = 0.02) and the absence of hydronephrosis (P = 0.01) remained significantly associated with LC. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use was associated with an improvement in LC on univariate analysis but was not found to be independently associated with LC after controlling for known prognostic factors. The potential beneficial interaction between statin use and chemoradiotherapy in bladder cancer warrants further investigation in a prospective study.

Cancer-specific mortality after radiation therapy with short-course hormonal therapy or radical prostatectomy in men with localized, intermediate-risk to high-risk prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The presence of multiple determinants of aggressive cancer biology may impact prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) rates compared with fewer factors. The authors estimated PCSM after radiation therapy with short-course androgen suppression therapy (RT+AST) or radical prostatectomy (RP) in men with clinically localized, intermediate-risk to high-risk prostate cancer. METHODS: The study cohort included 3240 men treated from 1981 to 2002 with RT with 6 months of AST (n = 550) or RP (n = 2690) for localized prostate cancer with at least 1 risk factor (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] >10 ng/mL, biopsy Gleason score 7-10, or clinical tumor category T2b or T2c). Competing risks regression analyses were used to determine whether the number of risk factors present was associated with time to PCSM. RESULTS: Men with all 3 risk factors had significantly shorter time to PCSM after RT+AST (adjusted hazards ratio [HR] of 9.3; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.9-44.5 [P(Gray) = .005]) or RP (adjusted HR of 6.3; 95% CI, 3.2-12.2 [P(Gray) < .001]) when compared with men with any 1 or 2 risk factors. The 7-year estimates of PCSM for men having 1, 2, or 3 risk factors were 0.83% (95% CI, 0.27-1.4%), 2.6% (95% CI, 1.0-4.2%), and 12.6% (95% CI, 7.1-18.1%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Men with multiple determinants of intermediate-risk to high-risk prostate cancer have significantly increased estimates of PCSM despite aggressive therapy compared with men with only 1 or 2 determinants. These men are appropriate candidates for enrollment onto randomized controlled trials evaluating the benefit of adding systemic therapies such as docetaxel to RT+AST or RP.

Patient-reported acute gastrointestinal toxicity in men receiving 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy for prostate cancer with or without neoadjuvant androgen suppression therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of 2 months of neoadjuvant and 2 months of concurrent hormonal therapy on the acute gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities associated with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) for prostate adenocarcinoma. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 80 men who underwent 3D-CRT with (n=40) or without (n=40) neoadjuvant and concurrent hormonal therapy. Computerized tomography-based planning occurred after neoadjuvant hormonal therapy. All patients completed a previously validated, quality-of-life self-assessment tool on 7 GI symptoms, including diarrhea, urgency, pain, rectal bleeding, cramping, mucus, and tenesmus, at baseline and weekly during radiation therapy. RESULTS: Patients who received hormonal therapy were more likely to have T2b, T2c, T3a, or T3b (P<0.001) or Gleason score 7, 8, or 9 (P=0.02) disease compared to those that did not. The dose delivered to the planning target volume was 70 Gy for both groups. Median radiation treatment volume was numerically smaller for the hormone group but not to a statistically significant degree (949 vs. 1043 cc, P=0.30). Patients who received hormonal therapy had less rectal pain (P<0.01) and tenesmus (P=0.02) but more rectal mucus (P=0.03) compared to those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate gland volume reduction after androgen suppression therapy may reduce patient-reported acute GI toxicities associated with 3D-CRT for prostate cancer.