RESUMO
PURPOSE: This systematic review provides an overview of literature on the impact of MR-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) on patient reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with prostate cancer (PC). METHODS: A systematic search was performed in October 2023 in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. The PICOS framework (i.e., patient, intervention, comparison, outcome, study design) was used to determine eligibility criteria. Included were studies assessing PROs following MRgRT for PC with sample size >10. Methodological quality was assessed using the ROBINS-I and RoB 2. Relevant mean differences (MD) compared to pre-RT were interpreted using minimal important differences (MID). Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed using the I2-statistic. RESULTS: Eleven observational studies and one randomized controlled trial (n=897) were included. Nine studies included patients with primary PC with MRgRT as first-line treatment (n=813) and three with MRgRT as second-line treatment (n=84). Substantial risk of bias was found in five studies. EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-PR25 scores were pooled from three studies, and EPIC-26 scores from four studies. Relevant MDs for the urinary domain were found with the EPIC-26 (MD-10.0 [95%CI -12.0 - -8.1]; I20%) and the EORTC QLQ-PR25 (MD8.6 [95%CI -4.7-22.0]; I297%), both at end-RT to one month follow-up. Relevant MDs for the bowel domain were found with the EPIC-26 (MD-4.7 [95%CI -9.2 - -0.2]; I282%), at end-RT or one month follow-up, but not with the EORTC QLQ-PR25. For both domains, no relevant MDs were found after three months of follow-up. No relevant MDs were found in the general QoL domains of the EORTC QLQ-C30. CONCLUSION: MRgRT for PC results in a temporarily worsening of patient-reported urinary and bowel symptoms during the first month after treatment compared to pre-RT, resolving at 3 months. No clinically relevant changes were found for general QoL domains. These results provide important information for patient counseling and can serve as a benchmark for future studies.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Radiation damage to neural and vascular tissue, such as the neurovascular bundles (NVBs) and internal pudendal arteries (IPAs), during radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa) may cause erectile dysfunction. Neurovascular-sparing magnetic resonance-guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRgRT) aims to preserve erectile function after treatment. However, the NVBs and IPAs are not routinely contoured in current radiotherapy practice. Before neurovascular-sparing MRgRT for PCa can be implemented, the interrater agreement of the contouring of the NVBs and IPAs on pre-treatment MRI needs to be assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four radiation oncologists independently contoured the prostate, NVB, and IPA in an unselected consecutive series of 15 PCa patients, on pre-treatment MRI. Dice similarity coefficients (DSCs) for pairwise interrater agreement of contours were calculated. Additionally, the DCS of a subset of the inferior half of the NVB contours (i.e. approximately prostate midgland to apex level) was calculated. RESULTS: Median overall interrater DSC for the left and right NVB was 0.60 (IQR: 0.54 - 0.68) and 0.61 (IQR: 0.53 - 0.69) respectively and for the left and right IPA 0.59 (IQR: 0.53 - 0.64) and 0.59 (IQR: 0.52 - 0.64) respectively. Median overall interrater DSC for the inferior half of the left NVB was 0.67 (IQR: 0.58 - 0.74) and 0.67 (IQR: 0.61 - 0.71) for the right NVB. CONCLUSION: We found that the interrater agreement for the contouring of the NVB and IPA improved with enhancement of the MRI sequence as well as further training of the raters. The agreement was best in the subset of the inferior half of the NVB, where a good agreement is clinically most relevant for neurovascular-sparing MRgRT for PCa.
