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Purpose: To validate the association between body composition and mortality in men treated with radiation for localized prostate cancer (PCa). Secondarily, to integrate body composition as a factor to classify patients by risk of all‐cause mortality. Materials and Methods: Participants of NRG/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9406 and NRG/RTOG 0126 with archived computed tomography were included. Muscle mass and muscle density were estimated by measuring the area and attenuation of the psoas muscles on a single slice at L4–L5. Bone density was estimated by measuring the attenuation of the vertebral body at mid‐L5. Survival analyses, including Cox proportional hazards models, assessed the relationship between body composition and mortality. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to create a classification tree to classify participants by risk of death. Results: Data from 2066 men were included in this study. In the final multivariable model, psoas area, comorbidity score, baseline prostate serum antigen, and age were significantly associated with survival. The RPA yielded a classification tree with four prognostic groups determined by age, comorbidity, and psoas area. Notably, the classification among older (≥70 years) men into prognostic groups was determined by psoas area. Conclusions: This study strongly supports that body composition is related to mortality in men with localized PCa. The inclusion of psoas area in the RPA classification tree suggests that body composition provides additive information to age and comorbidity status for mortality prediction, particularly among older men. More research is needed to determine the clinical impact of body composition on prognostic models in men with PCa. This study strongly supports that body composition is related to mortality in men with localized prostate cancer. The inclusion of psoas area in the recursive partitioning analysis classification tree suggests that body composition provides additive information to age and comorbidity status for mortality prediction, particularly among older men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Is posttreatment functional status prognostic of overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Methods: In an HNC clinical trial, 495 patients had two posttreatment functional assessments measuring diet, public eating, and speech within 6 months. Patients were grouped by impairment (highly, moderately, modestly, or not impaired) and determined if they improved, declined, or did not change from the first assessment to the second. Multivariable Cox models estimated overall mortality. Results: Across all three scales, the change in posttreatment patient function strongly predicted overall survival. In diet, patients who declined to highly impaired had three times the mortality of patients who were not impaired at both assessments (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.60; 95% confidence interval, 2.02‐6.42). For patients improving from highly impaired, mortality was statistically similar to patients with no impairment (HR = 1.38; 95% CI, 0.82‐2.31). Conclusions: Posttreatment functional status is a strong prognostic marker of survival in patients with HNC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Economic analyses of new technologies, such as proton-beam radiotherapy (PBT), are a public health priority. To date, no systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of PBT has been performed.Methods: Systematic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, abstracts from American Society for Radiation Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology meetings, and the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry were conducted (2000-2015) along with abstracts from the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group of North America for both years of existence (2014-2015). Eighteen original investigations were analyzed.Results: The cost-effectiveness for prostate cancer-the single most common diagnosis currently treated with PBT-was suboptimal. PBT was the most cost-effective option for several pediatric brain tumors. PBT costs for breast cancer were increased but were favorable for appropriately selected patients with left-sided cancers at high risk of cardiac toxicity and compared with brachytherapy for accelerated partial breast irradiation. For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the greatest cost-effectiveness benefits using PBT were observed for locoregionally advanced-but not early stage-tumors. PBT offered superior cost-effectiveness in selected head/neck cancer patients at higher risk of acute mucosal toxicities. Similar cost-effectiveness was observed for PBT, enucleation, and plaque brachytherapy in patients with uveal melanoma.Conclusions: With greatly limited amounts of data, PBT offers promising cost-effectiveness for pediatric brain tumors, well-selected breast cancers, locoregionally advanced NSCLC, and high-risk head/neck cancers. Heretofore, it has not been demonstrated that PBT is cost-effective for prostate cancer or early stage NSCLC. Careful patient selection is absolutely critical to assess cost-effectiveness. Together with increasing PBT availability, clinical trial evidence, and ongoing major technological improvements, cost-effectiveness data and conclusions from this analysis could change rapidly. Cancer 2016;122:1483-501. © 2016 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent primary brain tumor in adults. Temozolomide was rapidly incorporated into first-line treatment following the publication of the pivotal European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-National Cancer Institute of Canada phase 3 trial in 2005. However, in the trial, enrollment was limited to younger patients with good performance status. Therefore, this study performed a population-based survival analysis of patients with newly diagnosed GBM covering the period before and after the introduction of temozolomide. METHODS: Survival statistics and clinical and demographic variables were extracted from the Survival, Epidemiology and End Results Database for patients diagnosed with GBM from 2001 to 2007. Mean regional income for each patient was also collected. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and proportional hazard models. RESULTS: A total of 13,003 adult patients diagnosed with a GBM were identified. Prognostic variables included age <70 years, use of radiation, gross total resection, and residence in a high-income district ( P < .001). Between 2001 and 2007, the median survival time increased from 7 to 9 months for the entire population. The 1-year survival increased from 29% to 39%. Prognosis of patients aged 70 or more years did not improve over this time. Over the study period, the absolute disparity in 1-year survival between low- and high-income districts increased from 6.6% to 10.1%. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a stepwise improvement in the overall survival of patients with GBM between 2001 and 2007. This improvement has been confined to patients <70 years of age and has been most prominent among patients living in high-income districts. Cancer 2012. © 2011 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Prophylactic radiation therapy (RT) is an established adjuvant therapy for heterotopic ossification (HO) of the hip when delivered in the immediate pre- or postoperative setting. Its role in prevention of recurrence after excision of HO is supported by randomised trials for HO of the hip, but there is scant evidence to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a similar approach in non-hip joints. In the current study, we evaluate radiological and functional outcomes after prophylactic RT for prevention of HO of the knee and upper extremity. Methods: With institutional review board (IRB) approval, patients treated at our institution with prophylactic RT for non-hip HO from 1998 to 2009 were identified. Records were reviewed, including pre- and postoperative records, operative reports and radiography. The primary objectives were to determine the safety of RT and rate of treatment failure, as defined by need for further surgical intervention. Results: A total of 30 patients received prophylactic RT for HO of the elbow (n = 21), MCP joint (n = 1) and knee (n = 8). Twenty-nine of the 30 patients were treated within 24–48 h postoperatively, and one patient was treated within 24 h preoperatively. Based on institutional policy, only patients considered to be at high risk of recurrence were selected to receive prophylactic RT. Patients were treated to a dose of 7 Gy in one fraction, with two parallel opposed. Complications following treatment included two patients with postoperative wound infections, one patient with a ruptured triceps tendon and one patient with a fracture within the treatment field. Follow-up information was available for 26 of 30 patients, with a median follow-up time of 6 months (range, 2–143 months). Recurrent HO, requiring surgical re-excision, developed in 10.5% (n = 2) of patients who were followed for upper extremity HO (n = 19). For patients followed after RT for HO of the knee (n = 7), there were no recurrences of HO that required further intervention. Conclusion: In this group of patients at high risk for developing further HO, prophylactic RT appears to be a safe adjunct to surgery and is effective in prevention of HO recurrence. Results are similar to published reports of HO of the hip and support the use of surgical excision and perioperative, prophylactic RT for HO of non-hip joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the author of the article "Improving prognosis of glioblastoma in the 21st century: Who has benefited most?" published in a previous issue of the periodical is presented.