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PURPOSE: Concurrent chemoradiation plays an integral role in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Proton beam radiation therapy has the potential to spare adjacent critical organs, improving toxicity profiles and potentially improving clinical outcomes. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We evaluated the REG001-09 registry for patients undergoing proton radiation therapy for esophageal cancer. Demographic, clinicopathologic, toxicity, and dosimetry information were compiled. RESULTS: We identified 155 patients treated at 10 institutions between 2010 and 2019. One hundred twenty (77%) had adenocarcinoma and 34 (22%) had squamous cell carcinoma. One hundred thirty-seven (88%) received concurrent chemotherapy. The median delivered dose was 50.51 Gy-equivalent (GyE; range, 41.4-70.1). Grade ≥3 toxicities occurred in 22 (14%) of patients and were most commonly dysphagia (6%), esophagitis (4%), anorexia (4%), and nausea (2%). There were no episodes of grade ≥4 lymphopenia and no grade 5 toxicities. The average mean heart, lung, and liver doses and average maximum spinal cord dose were 10.0 GyE, 4.8 GyE, 3.8 GyE, and 34.2 GyE, respectively. For gastroesophageal junction tumors, 8% of patients developed acute grade ≥3 toxicity and the mean heart, liver, right kidney, and left kidney doses were 10.5 GyE, 3.9 GyE, 0.4 GyE, and 4.9 GyE, respectively. Gastroesophageal junction location was protective against development of grade ≥3 toxicity on univariate (P = .0009) and multivariate (P = .004) analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Proton beam radiation therapy affords excellent dosimetric parameters and low toxicity in patients with esophageal cancer treated with curative intent. Prospective trials are underway investigating the comparative benefit of proton-based therapy.

BackgroundData on patients with COVID-19 who have cancer are lacking. Here we characterise the outcomes of a cohort of patients with cancer and COVID-19 and identify potential prognostic factors for mortality and severe illness.MethodsIn this cohort study, we collected de-identified data on patients with active or previous malignancy, aged 18 years and older, with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from the USA, Canada, and Spain from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) database for whom baseline data were added between March 17 and April 16, 2020. We collected data on baseline clinical conditions, medications, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and COVID-19 disease course. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality within 30 days of diagnosis of COVID-19. We assessed the association between the outcome and potential prognostic variables using logistic regression analyses, partially adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and obesity. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04354701, and is ongoing.FindingsOf 1035 records entered into the CCC19 database during the study period, 928 patients met inclusion criteria for our analysis. Median age was 66 years (IQR 57-76), 279 (30%) were aged 75 years or older, and 468 (50%) patients were male. The most prevalent malignancies were breast (191 [21%]) and prostate (152 [16%]). 366 (39%) patients were on active anticancer treatment, and 396 (43%) had active (measurable) cancer. At analysis (May 7, 2020), 121 (13%) patients had died. In logistic regression analysis, independent factors associated with increased 30-day mortality, after partial adjustment, were: increased age (per 10 years; partially adjusted odds ratio 1·84, 95% CI 1·53-2·21), male sex (1·63, 1·07-2·48), smoking status (former smoker vs never smoked: 1·60, 1·03-2·47), number of comorbidities (two vs none: 4·50, 1·33-15·28), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or higher (status of 2 vs 0 or 1: 3·89, 2·11-7·18), active cancer (progressing vs remission: 5·20, 2·77-9·77), and receipt of azithromycin plus hydroxychloroquine (vs treatment with neither: 2·93, 1·79-4·79; confounding by indication cannot be excluded). Compared with residence in the US-Northeast, residence in Canada (0·24, 0·07-0·84) or the US-Midwest (0·50, 0·28-0·90) were associated with decreased 30-day all-cause mortality. Race and ethnicity, obesity status, cancer type, type of anticancer therapy, and recent surgery were not associated with mortality.InterpretationAmong patients with cancer and COVID-19, 30-day all-cause mortality was high and associated with general risk factors and risk factors unique to patients with cancer. Longer follow-up is needed to better understand the effect of COVID-19 on outcomes in patients with cancer, including the ability to continue specific cancer treatments.FundingAmerican Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, and Hope Foundation for Cancer Research.

BackgroundIntensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), non-coplanar 4π intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) represent the most advanced treatment methods based on heavy ion and X-rays, respectively. Here we compare their performance for prostate cancer treatment.MethodsTen prostate patients were planned using IMPT with robustness optimization, VMAT, and 4π to an initial dose of 54 Gy to a clinical target volume (CTV) that encompassed the prostate and seminal vesicles, then a boost prescription dose of 25.2 Gy to the prostate for a total dose of 79.2 Gy. The IMPT plans utilized two coplanar, oblique scanning beams 10° posterior of the lateral beam positions. Range uncertainties were taken into consideration in the IMPT plans. VMAT plans used two full, coplanar arcs to ensure sufficient PTV coverage. 4π plans were created by inversely selecting and optimizing 30 beams from 1162 candidate non-coplanar beams using a greedy column generation algorithm. CTV doses, bladder and rectum dose volumes (V40, V45, V60, V65, V70, V75, and V80), R100, R50, R10, and CTV homogeneity index (D95/D5) were evaluated.ResultsCompared to IMPT, 4π resulted in lower anterior rectal wall mean dose as well as lower rectum V40, V45, V60, V65, V70, and V75. Due to the opposing beam arrangement, IMPT resulted in significantly (p

Purpose: The number of pencil beam scanned proton therapy (PBS‐PT) facilities equipped with cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging treating thoracic indications is constantly rising. To enable daily internal motion monitoring during PBS‐PT treatments of thoracic tumors, we assess the performance of Motion‐Aware RecOnstructiOn method using Spatial and Temporal Regularization (MA‐ROOSTER) four‐dimensional CBCT (4DCBCT) reconstruction for sparse‐view CBCT data and a realistic data set of patients treated with proton therapy. Methods: Daily CBCT projection data for nine non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and one SCLC patient were acquired at a proton gantry system (IBA Proteus® One). Four‐dimensional CBCT images were reconstructed applying the MA‐ROOSTER and the conventional phase‐correlated Feldkamp‐Davis‐Kress (PC‐FDK) method. Image quality was assessed by visual inspection, contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR), signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), and the structural similarity index measure (SSIM). Furthermore, gross tumor volume (GTV) centroid motion amplitudes were evaluated. Results: Image quality for the 4DCBCT reconstructions using MA‐ROOSTER was superior to the PC‐FDK reconstructions and close to FDK images (median CNR: 1.23 [PC‐FDK], 1.98 [MA‐ROOSTER], and 1.98 [FDK]; median SNR: 2.56 [PC‐FDK], 4.76 [MA‐ROOSTER], and 5.02 [FDK]; median SSIM: 0.18 [PC‐FDK vs FDK], 0.31 [MA‐ROOSTER vs FDK]). The improved image quality of MA‐ROOSTER facilitated GTV contour warping and realistic motion monitoring for most of the reconstructions. Conclusion: MA‐ROOSTER based 4DCBCTs performed well in terms of image quality and appear to be promising for daily internal motion monitoring in PBS‐PT treatments of (N)SCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our purpose was to evaluate the measurement properties of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures used in the ongoing RadComp pragmatic randomized clinical trial (PRCT). The deidentified and blinded data set included 774 English-speaking female participants who completed their 6-month posttreatment assessment. Eleven PRO measures were evaluated, including the Trial Outcome Index from the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), Satisfaction with Breast Cosmetic Outcomes, the BREAST-Q, and selected Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures. PROs were measured at 3 timepoints: baseline, completion of radiation therapy (RT), and 6 months post-RT. Ten variables were used as validity anchors. Pearson or Spearman correlations were calculated between PROs and convergent validity indicators. Mean PRO differences between clinically distinct categories were compared with analysis of variance methods (known-groups validity). PRO change scores were mapped to change in other variables (sensitivity to change). Most correlations between PROs and validity indicators were large (≥0.5). Mean score for Satisfaction with Breast Cosmetic Outcomes was higher (better) for those with a lumpectomy compared with those with a mastectomy (P <.001). Mean scores for the FACT-B Trial Outcome Index and for PROMIS Fatigue and Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities were better for those with good baseline performance status compared with those with poorer baseline performance status (P <.05). At completion of RT and post-RT, mean scores for Satisfaction with Breast Cosmetic Outcomes and BREAST-Q Radiation were significantly different (P <.001) across categories for all Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy -Treatment Satisfaction – General items. There were medium-sized correlations between change scores for FACT-B Trial Outcome Index, Fatigue, Anxiety, and Ability to Participate in Social Roles and change scores in the Visual Analog Scale. For patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer receiving radiation in the RadComp PRCT, our findings demonstrate high reliability and validity for important PRO measures, supporting their psychometric strength and usefulness to reflect the effect of RT on health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) is curable in up to 80% of patients due, in part, to simultaneous advances in chemotherapy regimens as well as radiation therapy planning and delivery. Concerns regarding the historical use of large-field radiotherapy on overall survival have been published. In this study, we performed a Surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) data analysis to evaluate the impact of patients and treatments related factors on survival in HL., Patients and Methods: Data from 39,700 adult patients registered in the SEER data with diagnosis of HL, between 1983-2011 and follow-up through 2012 were analyzed. Impact of patient demographics (sex, age, race, ethnicity, year of diagnosis, family income, education, unemployment, poverty level and stage of disease) and treatment characteristics (delivery of radiotherapy) on survival were evaluated via multivariate analysis., Results: Median age was 36 years. Most patients were Ann Arbor Stage II (39%) at diagnosis with the remainder distributed evenly between the remaining stages (I, III, IV: 19-21%). In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for secondary predictor variables including stage of disease, Radiation therapy (RT) was a statistically significant predictor of overall survival from HL (HR=0.72, (95% CI=0.68-0.75). At follow up of more than 25 years, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that RT improved survival for all patients, irrespective of stage. Factors associated with worse survival included older age, male sex, extra nodal disease, advanced stage, African-American race, and non-Hispanic ethnicity., Conclusion: Radiation therapy improved survival in patients with all stages of HL. Demographic and disease factors associated with worse survival in this study may be related to particular patterns of care and warrant additional study., (Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Aims and Background: Our aim is to report on the clinical methods and outcomes of helical intensity-modulated stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods and Study Design: Seventy-nine patients with stage I NSCLC underwent helical SBRT with 48 Gy in 4 fractions or 60 Gy in 5 fractions. All patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) or FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) scanning in the immobilized treatment position for planned fusion with a separate kilovoltage (KV) CT simulation prior to treatment. Megavoltage CT images were obtained on the treatment unit prior to therapy and repeated at mid-fraction with comparison and fusion to the KV CT simulation planning images to assure setup accuracy. Serial follow-up with FDG-PET or FDG-PET/CT was performed at 3-4 months and every 6 months thereafter., Results: Median follow-up was 27 months (range, 4-82 months). Overall local control rate (LCR) was 93.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86.0-97.3%) and 3-year overall survival (OS) was 58.4% (95% CI, 47.2-69.5%). For patients with T1N0M0 disease (n = 59) the LCR was 94.9% (95% CI, 86.1-98.3%) and the 3-year OS was 62.8% (95% CI, 49.9-73.9%). Patients treated with 60 Gy had longer 3-year OS than patients treated with 48 Gy (65.2% vs 37.5%; P = 0.044). SBRT-related toxicity was modest, with 10 patients developing grade 1/2 chest wall toxicity based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE)., Conclusion: Image-guided SBRT with helical IMRT delivered in 4 or 5 fractions of 12 Gy with rigid immobilization, FDG-PET-assisted targeting, and repeat mid-fraction CT scan is an effective treatment for early NSCLC.