Gozde Yazici

Salvage reirradiaton with stereotactic body radiotherapy for locally recurrent head-and-neck tumors.

PURPOSE In this study, we present our results of reirradiation of locally recurrent head-and-neck cancer with image-guided, fractionated, frameless stereotactic body radiotherapy technique. METHODS AND MATERIALS From July 2007 to February 2009, 46 patients were treated using the CyberKnife (Accuray, Sunnyvale, CA) at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. All patients had recurrent, unresectable, and previously irradiated head-and-neck cancer. The most prominent site was the nasopharynx (32.6%), and the most common histopathology was epidermoid carcinoma. The planning target volume was defined as the gross tumor volume identified on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. There were 22 female and 24 male patients. Median age was 53 years (range, 19-87 years). The median tumor dose with stereotactic body radiotherapy was 30 Gy (range, 18-35 Gy) in a median of five (range, one to five) fractions. RESULTS Of 37 patients whose response to therapy was evaluated, 10 patients (27%) had complete tumor regression, 11 (29.8%) had partial response, and 10 (27%) had stable disease. Ultimate local disease control was achieved in 31 patients (83.8%). The overall survival was 11.93 months in median (ranged, 11.4-17.4 months), and the median progression free survival was 10.5 months. One-year progression-free survival and overall survival were 41% and 46%, respectively. Grade II or greater long-term complications were observed in 6 (13.3%) patients. On follow-up, 8 (17.3%) patients had carotid blow-out syndrome, and 7 (15.2%) patients died of bleeding from carotid arteries. We discovered that this fatal syndrome occurred only in patients with tumor surrounding carotid arteries and carotid arteries receiving all prescribed dose. CONCLUSIONS Stereotactic body radiotherapy is an appealing treatment option for patients with recurrent head-and-neck cancer previously treated with radiation to high doses. Good local control with considerable 1-year survival is achieved with a relatively high rate of morbidity and related mortality.

A Retrospective Comparison of Robotic Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy for the Reirradiation of Locally Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

PURPOSE We assessed therapeutic outcomes of reirradiation with robotic stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT) for locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LRNPC) patients and compared those results with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (CRT) with or without brachytherapy (BRT). METHODS AND MATERIALS Treatment outcomes were evaluated retrospectively in 51 LRNPC patients receiving either robotic SBRT (24 patients) or CRT with or without BRT (27 patients) in our department. CRT was delivered with a 6-MV linear accelerator, and a median total reirradiation dose of 57 Gy in 2 Gy/day was given. Robotic SBRT was delivered with CyberKnife (Accuray, Sunnyvale, CA). Patients in the SBRT arm received 30 Gy over 5 consecutive days. We calculated actuarial local control and cancer-specific survival rates for the comparison of treatment outcomes in SBRT and CRT arms. The Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0 was used for toxicity evaluation. RESULTS The median follow-up was 24 months for all patients. Two-year actuarial local control rates were 82% and 80% for SBRT and CRT arms, respectively (p = 0.6). Two-year cancer-specific survival rates were 64% and 47% for the SBRT and CRT arms, respectively (p = 0.4). Serious late toxicities (Grade 3 and above) were observed in 21% of patients in the SBRT arm, whereas 48% of patients had serious toxicity in the CRT arm (p = 0.04). Fatal complications occurred in three patients (12.5%) of the SBRT arm, and four patients (14.8%) of the CRT arm (p = 0.8). T stage at recurrence was the only independent predictor for local control and survival. CONCLUSION Our robotic SBRT protocol seems to be feasible and less toxic in terms of late effects compared with CRT arm for the reirradiation of LRNPC patients.

Robotic stereotactic body radiotherapy in the treatment of sinonasal mucosal melanoma: Report of four cases

Sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM) is a rare entity originating from melanocytes of the sinonasal mucosa. Postoperative radiotherapy is recommended in all cases to increase local control. However, external radiotherapy is rarely used as a definitive treatment modality. In this report, we present 4 cases of SNMM treated with CyberKnife (Accuray, Sunnyvale, CA).

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma: a Heterogeneous Disease

The aim of this study is to evaluate clinicopathologic characteristics and the multi-disciplinary treatment results of metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated in a single institute. Seventeen female patients with MBC treated in our department between June 2000 and January 2012 were identified and retrospectively evaluated. The median age at diagnosis was 46 years (range, 26-66 years). The median tumor size at diagnosis was 3.5 cm (range 1.5-12 cm). Six (35%) patients underwent breast conservation surgery and 11 (65%) mastectomy. Axillary lymph node metastasis was found in 6 (35%) patients. Twelve (71%) had triple negative tumors. Postoperative RT and systemic adjuvant treatment was given to all patients accordingly to stage and biological characteristics. Median follow-up time was 27 months (range, 12-151 months). At the time of this analysis, 14 (82%) patients were alive with no evidence of disease, and 1 (6%) was alive with disease. The 3-year OS was 91% and 5-year 80%, and DFS rates were 76% and 76%, respectively. Despite the young age of our patients with mostly high grade tumors, larger tumor size and higher rates of lymph node metastasis, the survival outcomes in our study are favorable in comparison with previously reported series.

Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Patients with Unresectable Glomus Jugulare Tumors

We evaluated the treatment results of robotic stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in our patients with unresectable glomus jugulare tumors (GJTs). The medical charts of fourteen patients with GJT, who were treated with robotic SRS, were retrospectively evaluated. The gross tumor volume was described as the clinical target volume. The median dose to the tumor was 25 Gy in median 5 fractions. The dose was normalized to 80% isodose line. All patients were evaluated for tumor growth and clinical outcome every 6 months in the first 2 years and then annually. Median follow-up was 39 months (range, 7–60 months). Lesions were stable in 8 patients, and tumor regression was observed in 6 patients. We did not observe any treatment related toxicity in our patients. In conclusion, according to our early experience, robotic SRS seems to be successful treatment option in the management of unresectable GJTs.

Impact of locoregional treatment on survival in patients presented with metastatic breast carcinoma

OBJECTIVES In this study, we tried to evaluate the efficacy of locoregional treatment (LRT) in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS The medical records of 227 patients with MBC at initial presentation between April 1999 and January 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. The median age at diagnosis was 50 years (range, 27-83 years). Thirty-nine patients (17%) had no LRT. Among patients who had LRT, 2 (1%) had locoregional radiotherapy (RT) alone, 54 (29%) had surgery alone [mastectomy, n = 50; breast conserving surgery (BCS), n = 4] and 132 (70%) had surgery (mastectomy, n = 119; BCS, n = 13) followed by locoregional RT. RESULTS The median follow-up time was 35 months (range, 4-149 months). Five-year OS and PFS rates were 44% and 20%, respectively. In both univariate and multivariate analysis LRT per se did not affect OS and PFS rates. However, the 5-year OS and PFS rates were significantly higher in patients treated with locoregional RT than the ones who were not. The corresponding rates were 56% vs. 24% for OS and 27% vs. 7% for PFS (p < 0.001). Median survival was 67 months and 37 months, respectively. CONCLUSION Our study showed that patients with MBC who received postoperative locoregional RT may have a survival advantage compared with patients who were only treated by surgery. A phase III trial testing the role of adjuvant locoregional RT may help to distinguish patients who will benefit from adjuvant RT.

Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Patients with Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinus Tumors

The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate our therapeutic results in patients with paranasal sinus (PNS) or nasal cavity (NC) malignancies treated with robotic stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Between August 2007 and October 2008, 27 patients with PNS or NC tumors were treated in our department using SRS. Median age was 53 years (range, 27–84 years). Eleven patients were female and sixteen were male. Most common histopathology was SCC (44%). The disease involved the maxillary sinus in 15 patients (55%). SRS was applied to 6 patients (22%) for reirradiation, while the others received it as a primary treatment. Seven patients had SRS as a boost dose to external beam radiotherapy. SRS was delivered with cyberknife (Accuray Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). The median dose to the tumor was 31 Gy (range, 15–37.5 Gy) in median 5 fractions (range, 3–5 fractions). After a median follow-up of 21.4 months (range, 3–59 months), 76% of the patients were free of local relapse. Three patients showed local progression and 3 developed distant metastases. One- and two-year survival rates for the entire group were 95.2% (SEM = 0.046) and 77.1% (SEM = 0.102), respectively. We observed brain necrosis in 2 patients, visual disorder in 2 patients, bone necrosis in 2 patients and trismus in 1 patient as a SRS related late toxicity. Robotic SRS seems to be a feasible treatment strategy for patients with PNS tumors. Further prospective studies with longer follow up times should be performed.

Reirradiation of Pediatric Tumors Using Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for reirradiation of recurrent pediatric tumors. Methods and Materials: The study included 23 pediatric patients who were reirradiated using hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy in the radiation oncology department between January 2008 and November 2013. In total, 33 tumors were treated—27 (82%) cranial and 6 (18%) extracranial. Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy was administered due to recurrent disease in 31 (94%) tumors and residual disease in 2 (6%) tumors. The median total dose was 25 Gy (range: 15-40 Gy), and the median follow-up was 20 months (range: 2-68 months). Results: The 1-year and 2-year local control rates in the entire study population were 42% and 31%, respectively. The median local control time was 11 months (range: 0-54 months) following hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. The patients with tumor response after hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy had significantly longer local control than the patients with post-hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy tumor progression (21 vs 3 months, P < .001). Tumor volume <1.58 cm3 was correlated (not significantly) with better local control (23 vs 7 months, P = .064). Conclusion: Reirradiation of pediatric tumors using hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy is a safe and effective therapeutic approach. This treatment modality should be considered as a treatment option in selected pediatric patients.

Prognostic Significance of Indicators of Systemic Inflammatory Responses in Glioblastoma Patients

Background: High-grade gliomas, with glioblastomas as the most frequently observed histologic subtype, are the most common primary brain tumours in adults. It is considered that inflammatory responses play a major role in malignancies, including tumour progression. This study aimed to determine the prognostic significance of the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the thrombocyte to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as indicators of systemic inflammatory response (SIR) in glioblastoma patients. Methods: A total of 90 patients treated for glioblastoma were retrospectively evaluated. Absolute counts were used to generate NLR and PLR. A SIR was considered to be present with an NLR ≥5 and/or PLR ≥150. Results: Median follow-up time was 11.3 months (range: 1-70 months). The 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates were 55.2% and 19.5%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that there was no correlation between overall survival and gender (p=0.184), comorbid disease (p = 0.30), clinical presentation (p = 0.884), or tumour lateralization (p = 0.159). Multivariate analysis showed that overall survival was significantly correlated with SIR based on NLR (HR: 2.41), and ECOG performance status (HR: 1.53). The prognostic factors that affected survival, other than SIR, were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (p = 0.003), and tumour localization (p = 0.006). Conclusion: The present findings confirm that NLR based on peripheral blood counts prior to treatment can be used as a prognostic factor in patients with glioblastoma. Since tumour aggression increases and survival decreases as the NLR value rises, choice of treatment modality is facilitated for glioblastoma patients.

Robotic Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Abdominopelvic Tumors: A Single Institute Experience.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of robotic CyberKnife (Accuray Incorporated, Sunnyvale, California)-based stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with recurrent or metastatic abdominopelvic tumors. Methods and Materials: A total of 69 patients treated between May 2008 and January 2011 were evaluated retrospectively. Indication for SBRT was persistent disease in 3 (4%) patients, local recurrence in 29 (42%) patients, regional recurrence in 13 (19%) patients, and oligometastatic disease in 24 (35%) patients. Forty-two (61%) patients were previously irradiated to the same region and 27 (39%) patients were treated for the first time. The median age was 59 years (range, 24-86 years). There were 31 (45%) male and 38 (55%) female patients. The median total dose was 30 Gy (range, 15-60 Gy) delivered with a median 3 fractions (range, 2-5 fractions). The tumor response to treatment was assessed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or positron emission tomography. Results: At the 12-month (range, 2-44 months) median follow-up, local control was 65% and median overall survival (OS) was 20 months. A larger gross tumor volume (≥ 67 cm3) was significantly correlated with worse 1-year OS (81% vs 48%, P = .03). The patients with local recurrence occurring <11 months had a significantly shorter 1-year local control rate than patients with ≥11 months (31% vs 91%, P < .001). Grade 3-4 acute and late toxicities were seen in 7% and 15% of patients, respectively. The patients with previous radiotherapy history had significantly higher rate of acute toxicity (19% vs 0%, P = .019). Late toxicity was significantly higher in pelvic tumors than in abdominal tumors (3% vs 28%, P = .004). Conclusion: The SBRT seems to be feasible and resulted in good treatment outcomes in patients with recurrent or metastatic abdominopelvic tumors.