Radiotherapy (RT) plays a critical role in the palliation of symptoms in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer. To address the growing need for these services, multiple dedicated palliative RT ...programs have been established. This article serves to highlight the novel ways in which palliative RT delivery systems support patients with advanced cancer. Through early integration of multidisciplinary palliative supportive services, rapid access programs facilitate best practices for oncologic patients at the end of life.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Older adults with cancer present a unique set of management complexities for oncologists and radiation oncologists. Prognosis and resilience to cancer treatments are notably dependent on the presence ...or risk of “geriatric syndromes,” in addition to cancer stage and histology. Recognition, proper evaluation, and management of these conditions in conjunction with management of the cancer itself are critical and can be accomplished by utilization of various geriatric assessment tools. Here we review principles of the geriatric assessment, common geriatric syndromes, and application of these concepts to multidisciplinary oncologic treatment. Older patients may experience toxicities related to treatments that impact treatment effectiveness, quality of life, treatment-related mortality, and treatment compliance. Treatment-related burdens from radiotherapy are increasingly important considerations and include procedural demands, travel, costs, and temporary or permanent loss of functional independence. An overall approach to delivering radiotherapy to an older cancer patient requires a comprehensive assessment of both physical and nonphysical factors that may impact treatment outcome. Patient and family-centered communication is also an important part of developing a shared understanding of illness and reasonable expectations of treatment.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Background
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network suggested that older women with low‐risk breast cancer (LRBC; i.e., early‐stage, node‐negative, and estrogen receptor‐positive) could omit ...adjuvant radiation treatment (RT) after breast‐conserving surgery (BCS) if they were treated with hormone therapy. However, the association between RT omission and breast cancer‐specific mortality among older women with comorbidity is not fully known.
Methods
1105 older women (≥65 years) with LRBC in 1998–2012 were queried from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare Health Outcomes Survey data resource and were followed up through July 2018. Latent class analysis was performed to identify comorbidity burden classes. A propensity score‐based inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to Cox regression models to obtain subdistribution hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CI for cancer‐specific mortality considering other causes of death as competing risks, overall and separately by comorbidity burden class.
Results
Three comorbidity burden (low, moderate, and high) groups were identified. A total of 318 deaths (47 cancer‐related) occurred. The IPTW‐adjusted Cox regression analysis showed that RT omission was not associated with short‐term, 5‐ and 10‐year cancer‐specific death (p = 0.202 and p = 0.536, respectively), regardless of comorbidity burden. However, RT omission could increase the risk of long‐term cancer‐specific death in women with low comorbidity burden (HR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.17, 3.33), which warrants further study.
Conclusions
Omission of RT after BCS is not associated with an increased risk of cancer‐specific death and is deemed a reasonable treatment option for older women with moderate to high comorbidity burden.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate whether (18)Ffluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) response of the primary tumor after induction chemotherapy predicts outcomes in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS).
After ...excluding those with initial tumor resection, 107 patients who underwent FDG-PET after induction chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 2002 to 2013 were reviewed. Local control (LC), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were calculated according to FDG-PET response and maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) at baseline (PET1/SUV1), after induction chemotherapy (PET2/SUV2), and after local therapy (PET3/SUV3). Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to determine the optimal cutoff for dichotomization of SUV1 and SUV2 values.
The SUV1 (<9.5 vs ≥9.5) was predictive of PFS (P=.02) and OS (P=.02), but not LC. After 12 weeks (median) of induction chemotherapy, 45 patients had negative PET2 scans and 62 had positive scans: 3-year PFS was 72% versus 44%, respectively (P=.01). The SUV2 (<1.5 vs ≥1.5) was similarly predictive of PFS (P=.005) and was associated with LC (P=.02) and OS (P=.03). A positive PET3 scan was predictive of worse PFS (P=.0009), LC (P=.05), and OS (P=.03).
(18)Ffluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography is an early indicator of outcomes in patients with RMS. Future prospective trials may incorporate FDG-PET response data for risk-adapted therapy and early assessment of new treatment regimens.
AbstractContextAdvanced cancer patients have unrecognized gaps in their understanding about palliative radiation therapy (PRT). ObjectivesTo build a video decision aid for hospitalized patients with ...advanced cancer referred for PRT and prospectively test its efficacy in reducing decisional uncertainty, improving knowledge, increasing treatment readiness and readiness for palliative care consultation, and its acceptability among patients. MethodsForty patients with advanced cancer hospitalized at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center watched a video decision aid about PRT and palliative care. Patients’ conceptual and logistical knowledge of PRT, decisional uncertainty, treatment readiness, and readiness for palliative care consultation were assessed before and after watching the video with a 6-item knowledge survey, the decisional uncertainty subscale of the Decisional Conflict Scale, and Likert instruments to assess readiness to accept radiation treatment and/or palliative care consultation, respectively. A post-video survey assessed the video’s acceptability among patients. ResultsAfter watching the video, decisional uncertainty was reduced (28.3 vs. 21.7, p=0.02); knowledge of PRT improved (60.4 vs. 88.3, p<0.001); and PRT readiness increased (2.0 vs. 1.3, p=0.04). Readiness for palliative care consultation was unchanged (p=0.58). Patients felt very comfortable (70%) watching the video and would highly recommend it (75%) to others. ConclusionAmong hospitalized patients with advanced cancer, a video decision aid reduced decisional uncertainty, improved knowledge of PRT, increased readiness for PRT, and was well-received by patient viewers.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends that all patients with metastatic disease receive dedicated palliative care (PC) services early in their illness, ideally via interdisciplinary ...care teams.
We investigated the time trends of specialty palliative care consultations from the date of metastatic cancer diagnosis among patients receiving palliative radiation therapy (PRT). A shorter time interval between metastatic diagnosis and first PC consultation suggests earlier involvement of palliative care in a patient's life with metastatic cancer.
In this IRB-approved retrospective analysis, patients treated with PRT for solid tumors (bone and brain) at a single tertiary care hospital between 2010 and 2016 were included. Cohorts were arbitrarily established by metastatic diagnosis within approximately two-year intervals: 1) 1/1/2010–3/27/2012, 2) 3/28/2012–5/21/2014, and 3) 5/22/2014–12/31/2016. Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was used to compare trends of PC consultation among cohorts.
Of 284 patients identified, 184 patients received PC consultation, whereas 15 patients died before receiving a PC consult. Median follow-up time until an event or censor was 257 days (range: 1900). Patients in the most recent cohort had a shorter median time to first PC consult (57 days) compared to those in the first (374 days) and second (186 days) cohorts. On multivariable analysis, patients in the third cohort were more likely to undergo a PC consultation earlier in their metastatic illness (hazard ratio: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2–2.8).
Over a six-year period, palliative care consultation occurred earlier for metastatic patients treated with PRT at our institution.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Palliative radiation therapy (PRT) is a highly effective treatment in alleviating symptoms from bone metastases; however, currently used standard fractionation schedules can lead to costly care, ...especially when patients are treated in an inpatient setting. The Palliative Radiation Oncology Consult (PROC) service was developed in 2013 to improve appropriateness, timeliness, and care value from PRT.
Our primary objective was to compare total costs among two cohorts of inpatients with bone metastases treated with PRT before, or after, PROC establishment. Secondarily, we evaluated drivers of cost savings including hospital length of stay, utilization of specialty-care palliative services, and PRT schedules.
Patients were included in our observational cohort study if they received PRT for bone metastases at a single tertiary care hospital from 2010 to 2016. We compared total costs and length of stay using propensity score-adjusted analyses. Palliative care utilization and PRT schedules were compared by χ2 and Mann-Whitney U tests.
We identified 181 inpatients, 76 treated before and 105 treated after PROC. Median total hospitalization cost was $76,792 (range $6380–$346,296) for patients treated before PROC and $50,582 (range $7585–$620,943) for patients treated after PROC. This amounted to an average savings of $20,719 in total hospitalization costs (95% CI $3687, $37,750). In addition, PROC was associated with shorter PRT schedules, increased palliative care utilization, and an 8.5 days reduction in hospital stay (95% CI 3.2,14).
The PROC service, a radiation oncology model integrating palliative care practice, was associated with cost-savings, shorter treatment courses and hospitalizations, and increased palliative care.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
While radiation therapy (RT) improves function, and quality of life for patients with advanced cancers, patients frequently experience a period of acute toxicity during which functional abilities may ...decline. Little is understood about changes in functional outcomes after RT in older adults. This study aims to examine changes in daily function at 1 and 6 months following RT.
We reviewed the charts of 117 patients who underwent palliative RT on a prospective registry. Activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scores ranging from 0 to 6 and 0–8, respectively, were collected at baseline, one-month, and six months post-RT. Patients were classified as low deficit for ADL/IADL if they had 0–1 deficits and high deficit if they had 2+ deficits.
One-hundred seventy RT courses were identified; 99 were evaluable at each time point. The median age was 67 years. At baseline, 29.5 and 29.9% of patients were classified as high-deficit for ADL and IADL functioning, respectively. At one-month, the majority of patients who were low-deficit at baseline remained so for both measures while approximately one quarter of high-deficit patients showed improvement. Most patients identified as low-deficit at one-month remained so at six-months, while no high-deficit patients improved from one- to six-months. Factors associated with high ADL and IADL deficits included: time (six months), increasing age, and Hispanic/other race. Compared to those with ECOG score of 3, patients with lower scores (0–2) had lower odds of high deficit.
ADL and IADL tools may be useful in describing changes in daily function after palliative RT and in identifying groups of patients who may benefit from additional supportive geriatric care interventions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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