Purpose Men with localized prostate cancer often are treated with external radiotherapy (RT) over 8 to 9 weeks. Hypofractionated RT is given over a shorter time with larger doses per treatment than ...standard RT. We hypothesized that hypofractionation versus conventional fractionation is similar in efficacy without increased toxicity. Patients and Methods We conducted a multicenter randomized noninferiority trial in intermediate-risk prostate cancer (T1 to 2a, Gleason score ≤ 6, and prostate-specific antigen PSA 10.1 to 20 ng/mL; T2b to 2c, Gleason ≤ 6, and PSA ≤ 20 ng/mL; or T1 to 2, Gleason = 7, and PSA ≤ 20 ng/mL). Patients were allocated to conventional RT of 78 Gy in 39 fractions over 8 weeks or to hypofractionated RT of 60 Gy in 20 fractions over 4 weeks. Androgen deprivation was not permitted with therapy. The primary outcome was biochemical-clinical failure (BCF) defined by any of the following: PSA failure (nadir + 2), hormonal intervention, clinical local or distant failure, or death as a result of prostate cancer. The noninferiority margin was 7.5% (hazard ratio, < 1.32). Results Median follow-up was 6.0 years. One hundred nine of 608 patients in the hypofractionated arm versus 117 of 598 in the standard arm experienced BCF. Most of the events were PSA failures. The 5-year BCF disease-free survival was 85% in both arms (hazard ratio short v standard, 0.96; 90% CI, 0.77 to 1.2). Ten deaths as a result of prostate cancer occurred in the short arm and 12 in the standard arm. No significant differences were detected between arms for grade ≥ 3 late genitourinary and GI toxicity. Conclusion The hypofractionated RT regimen used in this trial was not inferior to conventional RT and was not associated with increased late toxicity. Hypofractionated RT is more convenient for patients and should be considered for intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
Summary Background How best to treat rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration after radical prostatectomy is an urgent clinical question. Salvage radiotherapy delays the need for more ...aggressive treatment such as long-term androgen suppression, but fewer than half of patients benefit from it. We aimed to establish the effect of adding short-term androgen suppression at the time of salvage radiotherapy on biochemical outcome and overall survival in men with rising PSA following radical prostatectomy. Methods This open-label, multicentre, phase 3, randomised controlled trial, was done in 43 French study centres. We enrolled men (aged ≥18 years) who had received previous treatment for a histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate (but no previous androgen deprivation therapy or pelvic radiotherapy), and who had stage pT2, pT3, or pT4a (bladder neck involvement only) in patients who had rising PSA of 0·2 to less than 2·0 μg/L following radical prostatectomy, without evidence of clinical disease. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) centrally via an interactive web response system to standard salvage radiotherapy (three-dimensional 3D conformal radiotherapy or intensity modulated radiotherapy, of 66 Gy in 33 fractions 5 days a week for 7 weeks) or radiotherapy plus short-term androgen suppression using 10·8 mg goserelin by subcutaneous injection on the first day of irradiation and 3 months later. Randomisation was stratified using a permuted block method according to investigational site, radiotherapy modality, and prognosis. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00423475. Findings Between Oct 19, 2006, and March 30, 2010, 743 patients were randomly assigned, 374 to radiotherapy alone and 369 to radiotherapy plus goserelin. Patients assigned to radiotherapy plus goserelin were significantly more likely than patients in the radiotherapy alone group to be free of biochemical progression or clinical progression at 5 years (80% 95% CI 75–84 vs 62% 57–67; hazard ratio HR 0·50, 95% CI 0·38–0·66; p<0·0001). No additional late adverse events occurred in patients receiving short-term androgen suppression compared with those who received radiotherapy alone. The most frequently occuring acute adverse events related to goserelin were hot flushes, sweating, or both (30 8% of 366 patients had a grade 2 or worse event; 30 patients 8% had hot flushes and five patients 1% had sweating in the radiotherapy plus goserelin group vs none of 372 patients in the radiotherapy alone group). Three (8%) of 366 patients had grade 3 or worse hot flushes and one patient had grade 3 or worse sweating in the radiotherapy plus goserelin group versus none of 372 patients in the radiotherapy alone group. The most common late adverse events of grade 3 or worse were genitourinary events (29 8% in the radiotherapy alone group vs 26 7% in the radiotherapy plus goserelin group) and sexual disorders (20 5% vs 30 8%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Interpretation Adding short-term androgen suppression to salvage radiotherapy benefits men who have had radical prostatectomy and whose PSA rises after a postsurgical period when it is undetectable. Radiotherapy combined with short-term androgen suppression could be considered as a reasonable option in this population. Funding French Ministry of Health, AstraZeneca, and La Ligue Contre le Cancer.
Immuno-radiotherapy may improve outcomes for patients with advanced solid tumors, although optimized combination modalities remain unclear. Here, we report the colorectal (CRC) cohort analysis from ...the SABR-PDL1 trial that evaluated the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in combination with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in advanced cancer patients.
Eligible patients received atezolizumab 1200 mg every 3 weeks until progression or unmanageable toxicity, together with ablative SBRT delivered concurrently with the 2nd cycle (recommended dose of 45 Gy in 3 fractions, adapted upon normal tissue tolerance constraint). SBRT was delivered to at least one tumor site, with at least one additional measurable lesion being kept from the radiation field. The primary efficacy endpoint was one-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate from the start of atezolizumab. Sequential tumor biopsies were collected for deep multi-feature immune profiling.
Sixty pretreated (median of 2 prior lines) advanced CRC patients (38 men 63%; median age, 59 years range, 20-81 years; 77% with liver metastases) were enrolled in five centers (France: n = 4, Spain: n = 1) from 11/2016 to 04/2019. All but one (98%) received atezolizumab and 54/60 (90%) received SBRT. The most frequently irradiated site was lung (n = 30/54; 56.3%). Treatment-related G3 (no G4-5) toxicity was observed in 3 (5%) patients. Median OS and PFS were respectively 8.4 95%CI:5.9-11.6 and 1.4 months 95%CI:1.2-2.6, including five (9%) patients with PFS > 1 year (median time to progression: 19.2 months, including 2/5 MMR-proficient). Best overall responses consisted of stable disease (n = 38; 64%), partial (n = 3; 5%) and complete response (n = 1; 2%). Immune-centric multiplex IHC and RNAseq showed that SBRT redirected immune cells towards tumor lesions, even in the case of radio-induced lymphopenia. Baseline tumor PD-L1 and IRF1 nuclear expression (both in CD3 + T cells and in CD68 + cells) were higher in responding patients. Upregulation of genes that encode for proteins known to increase T and B cell trafficking to tumors (CCL19, CXCL9), migration (MACF1) and tumor cell killing (GZMB) correlated with responses.
This study provides new data on the feasibility, efficacy, and immune context of tumors that may help identifying advanced CRC patients most likely to respond to immuno-radiotherapy.
EudraCT N°: 2015-005464-42; Clinicaltrial.gov number: NCT02992912.
Glioblastoma, a high-grade glial infiltrating tumor, is the most frequent malignant brain tumor in adults and carries a dismal prognosis. External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) increases overall survival ...but this is still low due to local relapses, mostly occurring in the irradiation field. As the ratio of spectra of choline/N acetyl aspartate> 2 (CNR2) on MR spectroscopic imaging has been described as predictive for the site of local relapse, we hypothesized that dose escalation on these regions would increase local control and hence global survival.
In this multicenter prospective phase III trial for newly diagnosed glioblastoma, 220 patients having undergone biopsy or surgery are planned for randomization to two arms. Arm A is the Stupp protocol (EBRT 60 Gy on contrast enhancement + 2 cm margin with concomitant temozolomide (TMZ) and 6 months of TMZ maintenance); Arm B is the same treatment with an additional simultaneous integrated boost of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of 72Gy/2.4Gy delivered on the MR spectroscopic imaging metabolic volumes of CHO/NAA > 2 and contrast-enhancing lesions or resection cavity. Stratification is performed on surgical and MGMT status.
This is a dose-painting trial, i.e. delivery of heterogeneous dose guided by metabolic imaging. The principal endpoint is overall survival. An online prospective quality control of volumes and dose is performed in the experimental arm. The study will yield a large amount of longitudinal multimodal MR imaging data including planning CT, radiotherapy dosimetry, MR spectroscopic, diffusion and perfusion imaging.
NCT01507506 , registration date December 20, 2011.
Treatment summaries and a personalized survivorship care plans based on internationally approved, organ-specific follow-up care recommendations are essential in preserving the health and quality of ...life for cancer survivors. Cohorts made up of survivors of childhood cancer have made significant contributions to the understanding of early mortality, somatic late complications, and psychosocial outcomes among former patients. New treatment protocols are needed to enhance survival and reduce the potential risk and severity of late effects, and working with treatment databases is crucial in doing so.
In the GOCE (Grand Ouest Cancer de l'Enfant Western Region Childhood Cancer) network, in a participative approach, we developed the LOG-after medical tool, on which health data are registered and can be extracted for analysis. Its name emphasizes the tool's goal, referring to 'logiciel' (the French word for software) that focuses on the period "after" the acute phase. This tool is hosted on a certified health data server. Several interfaces have been developed that can be used depending on the user's profile. Here we present this innovative co-constructed tool that takes national aspects into account, including the results of the feasibility/satisfaction study and its perspective.
The database contains data relating to 2558 patients, with samples from 1702 of these (66.54%) being held in a tumor bank. The average year in which treatment started was 2015 (ranging from December 1967 to November 2022: 118 patients were treated before 2012 and registered retrospectively when seen in long-term follow-up consultations or for another cancer since November 2021). A short questionnaire was distributed to healthcare professionals using the tool (physicians and research associates or technicians, n = 14), of whom 11 answered and were all satisfied. Access to the patient interface is currently open to 124 former patients. This was initially offered to 30 former patients who were over 15 years old, affected by the disease within the last 5 years, and had agreed to test it. Their opinions were collected by their doctor by e-mail, telephone, or during a consultation in an open-ended question and a non-directive interview. All patients were satisfied with the tool, with interest in testing it in the long term. Some former patients found that the tool provided them with some ease of mind; one, for instance, commented: "I feel lighter. I allow myself to forget. I know I will get a notification when the time comes."
Freely available to all users, LOG-after: (1) provides help with determining personalized survivorship care plans for follow-up; (2) builds links with general practitioners; (3) empowers the patient; and (4) enables health data to be exported for analysis. Database URL for presentation: https://youtu.be/2Ga64iausJE.
Radiotherapy can diminish quality of life (QoL) for prostate cancer patients. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of radiotherapy on QoL in men aged 75 years or older treated with radiotherapy ...for a localized prostate cancer, and to identify predictors of reduced QoL.
We prospectively administered a battery of geriatric (MNA, GDS, Get up and Go Test, CIRS-G, ADL, IADL, MMSE), toxicity (IPSS; IIEF 5), and QoL (QLQ C30) screening tests in 100 elderly patients before and two months after prostate cancer radiotherapy (NCT 02876237). Patients ≥ 75 years undergoing radiotherapy with a curative intent for localized prostate cancer with or without androgen deprivation therapy (ADL) were eligible for study inclusion. Correlations between patient-assessed QoL and tumor characteristics, radiotherapy treatment or CGA parameters were sought using the Fisher or the Mann and Whitney tests. Changes in QoL parameters over time were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
At study entry, scores for IADL impairments were present in 51%, reduced autonomy in activities of daily living in 16%, cognitive impairment found in 20%, depression-related symptoms in 31%, and 66% of patients had significant co-morbidities. Eight percent were judged to be at risk of fall and 2% were found to be undernourished. Severely impaired (IPSS ≥ 20) urinary function was observed in 11.2% and 13.5% of patients before and two months after completion of radiotherapy respectively. Significantly decreased QoL (> 20 points) at two months after treatment was found in 13% of patients and a moderate but clinically relevant reduction (10 to 20 points) in 17% of patients. No tumor characteristic, treatment, or oncogeriatric parameter was predictive of reduced QoL following prostate cancer radiotherapy.
Despite sometimes markedly diminished oncogeriatric parameters, prostate cancer radiotherapy was generally well tolerated in these elderly patients. We found no predictive factor to determine which patients would experience impaired quality of life following radiotherapy.
Purpose
The ARRONAX cyclotron facility offers the possibility to deliver proton beams from low to ultra‐high dose rates (UHDR). As a good control of the dosimetry is a prerequisite of UHDR ...experimentations, we evaluated in different conditions the usability and the dose rate dependency of several radiochromic films commonly used for dosimetry in radiotherapy.
Methods
We compared the dose rate dependency of three types of radiochromic films: GAFchromic™ EBT3 and GAFchromic™ EBT‐XD (Ashland Inc., Wayne, NJ, USA), and OrthoChromic OC‐1 (OrthoChrome Inc., Hillsborough, NJ, USA), after proton irradiations at various mean dose rates (0.25, 40, 1500, and 7500 Gy/s) and for 10 doses (2–130 Gy). We also evaluated the dose rate dependency of each film considering beam structures, from single pulse to multiple pulses with various frequencies.
Results
EBT3 and EBT‐XD films showed differences of response between conventional (0.25 Gy/s) and UHDR (7500 Gy/s) conditions, above 10 Gy. On the contrary, OC‐1 films did not present overall difference of response for doses except below 3 Gy. We observed an increase of the netOD with the mean dose rate for EBT3 and EBT‐XD films. OC‐1 films did not show any impact of the mean dose rate up to 7500 Gy/s, above 3 Gy. No difference was found based on the beam structure, for all three types of films.
Conclusions
EBT3 and EBT‐XD radiochromic films should be used with caution for the dosimetry of UHDR proton beams over 10 Gy. Their overresponse, which increases with mean dose rate and dose, could lead to non‐negligible overestimations of the absolute dose. OC‐1 films are dose rate independent up to 7500 Gy/s in proton beams. Films response is not impacted by the beam structure. A broader investigation of the usability of OC‐1 films in UHDR conditions should be conducted at intermediate and higher mean dose rates and other beam energies.
•POSTCARD is a randomized multicentric phase II trial.•Including patients with prostate cancer and hormone-sensitive oligometastatic relapse.•Treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy alone (SBRT) ...(Control group)•Or SBRT and Durvalumab (anti PD-L1) (Experimental group)•We expected longer life expectancy with acceptable toxicity in experimental group.
As in other solid tumors, increasing evidence indicates that patients diagnosed with a limited number of prostate cancer metastases, so-called oligometastases, have a better prognosis than patients with extensive metastatic disease. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is now considered an option in this population.
Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligands (PD-L1) are targeted by immune checkpoint inhibitors. Preclinical studies have shown that the tumor immune microenvironment changes when combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy, especially with hypofractionated radiotherapy.
The oligometastatic setting appears to be the most relevant clinical situation for evaluating the immune response generated by radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with an intact immune system.
We hypothesize that durvalumab will enhance the immune response following SBRT targeting oligometastatic lesions. Our purpose is to demonstrate, via a randomized 2:1 phase II trial, that SBRT (3 fractions) with durvalumab in oligometastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients would improve progression-free survival in patients with prostate cancer with up to 5 metastases compared to patients who exclusively received SBRT.
This is a multicentric randomized phase II study in French academic hospitals. Patients with prostate cancer and up to 5 metastases (lymph node and/or bone) were randomized into a 2:1 ratio between Arm A (experimental group), corresponding to durvalumab and SBRT to the metastases, and Arm B (control group), corresponding to SBRT alone to the metastases. The study aims to accrue a total of 96 patients within 3 years. The primary endpoint is two-year progression-free survival and secondary endpoints include androgen deprivation therapy-free survival, quality of life, toxicity, prostate cancer specific survival, overall survival, and immune response.
The expected benefit for the patients in the experimental arm is longer life expectancy with acceptable toxicity. We also expect our study to provide data for better understanding the synergy between immunotherapy and radiotherapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer.
Adjuvant radiotherapy reduces the risk of biochemical progression in prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy. We aimed to compare adjuvant versus early salvage radiotherapy after radical ...prostatectomy, combined with short-term hormonal therapy, in terms of oncological outcomes and tolerance.
GETUG-AFU 17 was a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial done at 46 French hospitals. Men aged at least 18 years who had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1 or less, localised adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated with radical prostatectomy, who had pathologically-staged pT3a, pT3b, or pT4a (with bladder neck invasion), pNx (without pelvic lymph nodes dissection), or pN0 (with negative lymph nodes dissection) disease, and who had positive surgical margins were eligible for inclusion in the study. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either immediate adjuvant radiotherapy or delayed salvage radiotherapy at the time of biochemical relapse. Random assignment, by minimisation, was done using web-based software and stratified by Gleason score, pT stage, and centre. All patients received 6 months of triptorelin (intramuscular injection every 3 months). The primary endpoint was event-free survival. Efficacy and safety analyses were done on the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00667069.
Between March 7, 2008, and June 23, 2016, 424 patients were enrolled. We planned to enrol 718 patients, with 359 in each study group. However, on May 20, 2016, the independent data monitoring committee recommended early termination of enrolment because of unexpectedly low event rates. At database lock on Dec 19, 2019, the overall median follow-up time from random assignment was 75 months (IQR 50–100), 74 months (47–100) in the adjuvant radiotherapy group and 78 months (52–101) in the salvage radiotherapy group. In the salvage radiotherapy group, 115 (54%) of 212 patients initiated study treatment after biochemical relapse. 205 (97%) of 212 patients started treatment in the adjuvant group. 5-year event-free survival was 92% (95% CI 86–95) in the adjuvant radiotherapy group and 90% (85–94) in the salvage radiotherapy group (HR 0·81, 95% CI 0·48–1·36; log-rank p=0·42). Acute grade 3 or worse toxic effects occurred in six (3%) of 212 patients in the adjuvant radiotherapy group and in four (2%) of 212 patients in the salvage radiotherapy group. Late grade 2 or worse genitourinary toxicities were reported in 125 (59%) of 212 patients in the adjuvant radiotherapy group and 46 (22%) of 212 patients in the salvage radiotherapy group. Late genitourinary adverse events of grade 2 or worse were reported in 58 (27%) of 212 patients in the adjuvant radiotherapy group versus 14 (7%) of 212 patients in the salvage radiotherapy group (p<0·0001). Late erectile dysfunction was grade 2 or worse in 60 (28%) of 212 in the adjuvant radiotherapy group and 17 (8%) of 212 in the salvage radiotherapy group (p<0·0001).
Although our analysis lacked statistical power, we found no benefit for event-free survival in patients assigned to adjuvant radiotherapy compared with patients assigned to salvage radiotherapy. Adjuvant radiotherapy increased the risk of genitourinary toxicity and erectile dysfunction. A policy of early salvage radiotherapy could spare men from overtreatment with radiotherapy and the associated adverse events.
French Health Ministry and Ipsen.