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Purpose: Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) often results from external vessel compression due to tumor growth. Urgent symptom-guided radiotherapy (RT) remains a major treatment approach in histologically proven, rapidly progressive disease. Despite several publications, recent data concerning symptom relief and oncological outcome as well as potential confounders in treatment response are still scarce., Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center analysis of patients receiving urgent RT between 2000 and 2021 at the University Medical Center Göttingen. Symptom relief was evaluated by CTCAE score during the RT course. Effects of variables on symptom relief were assessed by logistic regression. The impact of parameters on overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier plot along with the log-rank test and by Cox regression analyses. Statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) confounders were tested in multivariable analyses., Results: A total of 79 patients were included. Symptom relief was achieved in 68.4%. Mean OS was 59 days, 7.6% (n = 6) of patients showed long-term survival (> 2 years). Applied RT dose > 39 Gy, clinical target volume (CTV) size < 387 ml, concomitant chemotherapy, and completion of the prescribed RT course were found to be statistically significant for OS; applied RT dose and completion of the prescribed RT course were found to be statistically significant for symptom relief., Conclusion: Symptom relief by urgent RT for SVCS was achieved in the majority of patients. RT dose and completion of the RT course were documented as predictors for OS and symptom relief, CTV < 387 ml and concomitant chemotherapy were predictive for OS., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for cervical cancer yields favorable results in terms of oncological outcomes, acute toxicity, and late toxicity. Limited data are available on clinical results with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). This study's purpose is to compare outcome and toxicity with VMAT to conventional 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), giving special consideration to the influence of patient- and treatment-related parameters on side effects., Materials and Methods: Patients with cervical cancer stage I-IVA underwent radiotherapy alone or chemoradiotherapy using 3DCRT (n = 75) or VMAT (n = 30). Survival endpoints were overall survival, progression-free survival, and locoregional control. The National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events and the Late Effects of Normal Tissues criteria were used for toxicity assessment. Toxicity and patient- and treatment-related parameters were included in a multivariable model., Results: There were no differences in survival rates between treatment groups. VMAT significantly reduced late small bowel toxicity (OR = 0.10, p = 0.03). Additionally, VMAT was associated with an increased risk of acute urinary toxicity (OR = 2.94, p = 0.01). A low body mass index (BMI; OR = 2.46, p = 0.03) and overall acute toxicity ≥grade 2 (OR = 4.17, p < 0.01) were associated with increased overall late toxicity., Conclusion: We demonstrated significant reduction of late small bowel toxicity with VMAT treatment, an improvement in long-term morbidity is conceivable. VMAT-treated patients experienced acute urinary toxicity more frequently. Further analysis of patient- and treatment-related parameters indicates that the close monitoring of patients with low BMI and of patients who experienced relevant acute toxicity during follow-up care could improve late toxicity profiles.

Background: Primary chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment for locally advanced anal carcinoma. This study compared volumetric intensity-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) in terms of treatment-related side effects and survival., Patients and Methods: From 1992-2014, 103 consecutive patients with anal carcinoma UICC stage I-III were treated. Concomitant CRT consisted of whole pelvic irradiation, including the iliac and inguinal lymph nodes, with 50.4 Gy (1.8 Gy per fractions) by VMAT (n = 17) or 3DCRT (n = 86) as well as two cycles of 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C. Acute organ and hematological toxicity were assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria (CTC) for Adverse Events version 3.0. Side effects ≥ grade 3 were scored as high-grade toxicity., Results: High-grade acute organ toxicity CTC ≥ 3 (P < 0.05), especially proctitis (P = 0.03), was significantly reduced in VMAT patients. The 2-year locoregional control (LRC) and disease-free survival (DFS) were both 100 % for VMAT patients compared with 80 and 73 % for 3DCRT patients., Conclusion: VMAT was shown to be a feasible technique, achieving significantly lower rates of acute organ toxicity and promising results for LRC and DFS. Future investigations will aim at assessing the advantages of VMAT with respect to late toxicity and survival after a prolonged follow-up time.