Patient outcomes and tumor control in single-fraction versus hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy for spinal metastases

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Christine Park ◽  
Elizabeth P. Howell ◽  
Vikram A. Mehta ◽  
Luis Ramirez ◽  
Meghan J. Price ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) offers efficient, noninvasive treatment of spinal neoplasms. Single-fraction (SF) high-dose SBRT has a relatively narrow therapeutic window, while hypofractionated delivery of SBRT may have an improved safety profile with similar efficacy. Because the optimal approach of delivery is unknown, the authors examined whether hypofractionated SBRT improves pain and/or functional outcomes and results in better tumor control compared with SF-SBRT.METHODSThis is a single-institution retrospective study of adult patients with spinal metastases treated with SF- or three-fraction (3F) SBRT from 2008 to 2019. Demographics and baseline characteristics, radiographic data, and posttreatment outcomes at a minimum follow-up of 3 months are reported.RESULTSOf the 156 patients included in the study, 70 (44.9%) underwent SF-SBRT (median total dose 1700 cGy) and 86 (55.1%) underwent 3F-SBRT (median total dose 2100 cGy). At baseline, a higher proportion of patients in the 3F-SBRT group had a worse baseline profile, including severity of pain (p < 0.05), average use of pain medication (p < 0.001), and functional scores (p < 0.05) compared with the SF-SBRT cohort. At the 3-month follow-up, the 3F-SBRT cohort experienced a greater frequency of improvement in pain compared with the SF-SBRT group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, patients treated with 3F-SBRT demonstrated a higher frequency of improved Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) scores (p < 0.05) compared with those treated with SF-SBRT, with no significant difference in the frequency of improvement in modified Rankin Scale scores. Local tumor control did not differ significantly between the two cohorts.CONCLUSIONSPatients who received spinal 3F-SBRT more frequently achieved significant pain relief and an increased frequency of improvement in KPS compared with those treated with SF-SBRT. Local tumor control was similar in the two groups. Future work is needed to establish the relationship between fractionation schedule and clinical outcomes.

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya Laufer ◽  
J. Bryan Iorgulescu ◽  
Talia Chapman ◽  
Eric Lis ◽  
Weiji Shi ◽  
...  

Object Decompression surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy is an effective therapy for preservation or recovery of neurological function and achieving durable local disease control in patients suffering from metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (ESCC). The authors examine the outcomes of postoperative image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy delivered as single-fraction or hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for achieving long-term local tumor control. Methods A retrospective chart review identified 186 patients with ESCC from spinal metastases who were treated with surgical decompression, instrumentation, and postoperative radiation delivered as either single-fraction SRS (24 Gy) in 40 patients (21.5%), high-dose hypofractionated SRS (24–30 Gy in 3 fractions) in 37 patients (19.9%), or low-dose hypofractionated SRS (18–36 Gy in 5 or 6 fractions) in 109 patients (58.6%). The relationships between postoperative adjuvant SRS dosing and fractionation, patient characteristics, tumor histology–specific radiosensitivity, grade of ESCC, extent of surgical decompression, response to preoperative radiotherapy, and local tumor control were evaluated by competing risks analysis. Results The total cumulative incidence of local progression was 16.4% 1 year after SRS. Multivariate Gray competing risks analysis revealed a significant improvement in local control with high-dose hypofractionated SRS (4.1% cumulative incidence of local progression at 1 year, HR 0.12, p = 0.04) as compared with low-dose hypofractionated SRS (22.6% local progression at 1 year, HR 1). Although univariate analysis demonstrated a trend toward greater risk of local progression for patients in whom preoperative conventional external beam radiation therapy failed (22.2% local progression at 1 year, HR 1.96, p = 0.07) compared with patients who did not receive any preoperative radiotherapy (11.2% local progression at 1 year, HR 1), this association was not confirmed with multivariate analysis. No other variable significantly correlated with progression-free survival, including radiation sensitivity of tumor histology, grade of ESCC, extent of surgical decompression, or patient sex. Conclusions Postoperative adjuvant SRS following epidural spinal cord decompression and instrumentation is a safe and effective strategy for establishing durable local tumor control regardless of tumor histology–specific radiosensitivity. Patients who received high-dose hypofractionated SRS demonstrated 1-year local progression rates of less than 5% (95% CI 0%–12.2%), which were superior to the results of low-dose hypofractionated SRS. The local progression rate after single-fraction SRS was less than 10% (95% CI 0%–19.0%).


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 4004-4015
Author(s):  
Claudio Pusceddu ◽  
Davide De Francesco ◽  
Luca Melis ◽  
Nicola Ballicu ◽  
Alessandro Fancellu

Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a navigational radiofrequency ablation device with concurrent vertebral augmentation in the treatment of posterior vertebral body metastatic lesions, which are technically difficult to access. Primary outcomes of the study were evaluation of pain palliation and radiologic assessment of local tumor control. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with 41 vertebral spinal metastases involving the posterior vertebral body underwent computed tomography-guided percutaneous targeted radiofrequency ablation, with a navigational radiofrequency ablation device, associated with vertebral augmentation. Twenty-one patients (60%) had 1 or 2 metastatic lesions (Group A) and fourteen (40%) patients had multiple (>2) vertebral lesions (Group B). Changes in pain severity were evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS). Metastatic lesions were evaluated in terms of radiological local control. Results: The procedure was technically successful in all the treated vertebrae. Among the symptomatic patients, the mean VAS score dropped from 5.7 (95% CI 4.9–6.5) before tRFA and to 0.9 (95% CI 0.4–1.3) after tRFA (p < 0.001). The mean decrease in VAS score between baseline and one week follow up was 4.8 (95% CI 4.2–5.4). VAS decrease over time between one week and one year following radiofrequency ablation was similar, suggesting that pain relief was immediate and durable. Neither patients with 1–2 vertebral metastases, nor those with multiple lesions, showed radiological signs of local progression or recurrence of the tumor in the index vertebrae during a median follow up of 19 months (4–46 months) and 10 months (4–37 months), respectively. Conclusion: Treatment of spinal metastases with a navigational radiofrequency ablation device and vertebral augmentation can be used to obtain local tumor control with immediate and durable pain relief, providing effective treatment in the multimodality management of difficult-to-reach spinal metastases.


2013 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 675-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Pollock ◽  
Scott L. Stafford ◽  
Michael J. Link ◽  
Yolanda I. Garces ◽  
Robert L. Foote

Object Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an important treatment option for patients with cavernous sinus meningiomas (CSM). To analyze factors associated with local tumor control and complications after single-fraction SRS, the authors reviewed cases involving patients treated with Gamma Knife SRS between 1990 and 2008. Methods Excluded were patients with WHO Grade II or III tumors, radiation-induced tumors, multiple meningiomas, neurofibromatosis Type 2, and prior or concurrent radiotherapy. Five patients were lost to follow-up and 3 patients refused research authorization. The remaining 115 patients (29 men, 86 women) had either histologically confirmed WHO Grade I (n = 46, 40%) or presumed (n = 69, 60%) CSM. The median treatment volume was 9.3 cm3 (range 1.3–42.2 cm3). The median margin dose was 16 Gy (range 12–20 Gy). The median follow-up after SRS was 89 months (range 12–251 months). Thirty-nine patients (34%) had 10 or more years of follow-up after SRS. Results Six patients (5%) had tumor progression (in field, n = 3; marginal, n = 3) at a median of 74 months (range 42–145 months) after SRS. The local tumor control rate was 99% at 5 years and 93% at 10 years after SRS. No analyzed factor was associated with local control after SRS. Fourteen patients (12%) had permanent complications at a median onset of 23 months (range 2–146 months) including trigeminal dysfunction (n = 9), diplopia (n = 2), ischemic stroke (n = 2), and hypopituitarism (n = 1). The 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year rates of complications were 7%, 10%, and 15%, respectively. Multivariate analysis found larger treatment volume (HR 1.1, 95% CI 1.02–1.2, p = 0.01) to be associated with complications after SRS. The complication rate for patients with a treatment volume of 9.3 cm3 or less was 3% (2 of 58 cases) compared with 21% (12 of 57 cases) for patients with a treatment volume greater than 9.4 cm3. Conclusions Single-fraction SRS at the radiation doses used in this series provided durable tumor control for patients with benign CSM. Larger tumor volume remains the primary factor associated with complications after single-fraction SRS of benign CSM despite advancements in SRS technique.


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus K. Herfarth ◽  
Jürgen Debus ◽  
Frank Lohr ◽  
Malte L. Bahner ◽  
Bernhard Rhein ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and the clinical response of a stereotactic single-dose radiation treatment for liver tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between April 1997 and September 1999, a stereotactic single-dose radiation treatment of 60 liver tumors (four primary tumors, 56 metastases) in 37 patients was performed. Patients were positioned in an individually shaped vacuum pillow. The applied dose was escalated from 14 to 26 Gy (reference point), with the 80% isodose surrounding the planning target volume. Median tumor size was 10 cm3 (range, 1 to 132 cm3). The morbidity, clinical outcome, laboratory findings, and response as seen on computed tomography (CT) scan were evaluated. RESULTS: Follow-up data could be obtained from 55 treated tumors (35 patients). The median follow-up period was 5.7 months (range, 1.0 to 26.1 months; mean, 9.5 months). The treatment was well tolerated by all patients. There were no major side effects. Fifty-four (98%) of 55 tumors were locally controlled after 6 weeks at the initial follow-up based on the CT findings (22 cases of stable disease, 28 partial responses, and four complete responses). After a dose-escalating and learning phase, the actuarial local tumor control rate was 81% at 18 months after therapy. A total of 12 local failures were observed during follow-up. So far, the longest local tumor control is 26.1 months. CONCLUSION: Stereotactic single-dose radiation therapy is a feasible method for the treatment of singular inoperable liver metastases with the potential of a high local tumor control rate and low morbidity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 113 (Special_Supplement) ◽  
pp. 90-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Yashar S. Kalani ◽  
Aristotelis S. Filippidis ◽  
Maziyar A. Kalani ◽  
Nader Sanai ◽  
David Brachman ◽  
...  

Object Resection and whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) have classically been the standard treatment for a single metastasis to the brain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) as an alternative to WBRT in patients who had undergone resection and to evaluate patient survival and local tumor control. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of 150 patients treated with a combination of stereotactic radiosurgery and resection of a cranial metastasis at their institution between April 1997 and September 2009. Patients who had multiple lesions or underwent both WBRT and GKS were excluded, as were patients for whom survival data beyond the initial treatment were not available. Clinical and imaging follow-up was assessed using notes from clinic visits and MR imaging studies when available. Follow-up data beyond the initial treatment and survival data were available for 68 patients. Results The study included 37 women (54.4%) and 31 men (45.6%) (mean age 60 years, range 28–89 years). In 45 patients (66.2%) there was systemic control of the primary tumor when the cranial metastasis was identified. The median duration between resection and radiosurgery was 15.5 days. The median volume of the treated cavity was 10.35 cm3 (range 0.9–45.4 cm3), and the median dose to the cavity margin was 15 Gy (range 14–30 Gy), delivered to the 50% isodose line (range 50%–76% isodose line). The patients' median preradiosurgery Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score was 90 (range 40–100). During the follow-up period we identified 27 patients (39.7%) with recurrent tumor located either local or distant to the site of treatment. The median time from primary treatment of metastasis to recurrence was 10.6 months. The patients' median length of survival (interval between first treatment of cerebral metastasis and last follow-up) was 13.2 months. For the patient who died during follow-up, the median time from diagnosis of cerebral metastasis to death was 11.5 months. The median duration of survival from diagnosis of the primary cancer to last follow-up was 30.2 months. Patients with a pretreatment KPS score ≥ 90 had a median survival time of 23.2 months, and patients with a pretreatment KPS score < 90 had a median survival time of 10 months (p < 0.008). Systemic control of disease at the time of metastasis was not predictive of increased survival duration, although it did tend to improve survival. Conclusions Although the debate about the ideal form of radiation treatment after resection continues, these findings indicate that GKS combined with surgery offers comparable survival duration and local tumor control to WBRT for patients with a diagnosis of a single metastasis.


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