Survival Benefit Of Chemoradiotherapy Research Articles

Efficacy of chemoradiotherapy in elderly patients with stage IV inoperable head and neck cancer.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with radiotherapy (RT) alone for elderly patients (≥ 65 years) with stage IV inoperable head and neck cancer (IV-HNC). Elderly patients diagnosed with inoperable IV-HNC from 2010 to 2015 were identified using the SEER database. Then, we performed a 1:1 propensity-score matched (PSM) analysis to reduce treatment selection bias, and the prognostic role of CRT was investigated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard models. The main outcome was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcome was cancer-specific survival (CSS). A total of 3318 patients were enrolled, of whom 601 received RT alone and 2717 received CRT. Through PSM, 526 patients were successfully matched, and balances between the two treatment groups were reached. In the matched dataset, multivariable Cox analysis revealed that CRT was associated with better OS (HR = 0.580, P < 0.001) and CSS (HR = 0.586, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, subgroups of patients with IV-HNC (younger age, male sex, being married, black race, grade I-II, oral cavity site, T3-T4 stage, N0-N1 stage, M1 stage) were inclined to benefit more from CRT treatment. Furthermore, the survival benefit of CRT was more pronounced in patients aged 65 to 80 years, but was absent in patients aged 80 years or older. This study indicated that CRT resulted in better survival than RT alone in elderly patients with inoperable IV-HNC, especially for those subpopulations that benefit more from CRT treatment.

The Survival Benefit of Chemoradiotherapy following Induction Chemotherapy with Gemcitabine Plus Nab-Paclitaxel for Unresectable Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Simple SummaryAn optimal therapeutic strategy for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer (UR-LAPC) has not been established. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) of patients with UR-LAPC who underwent gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) as first-line chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) compared to chemotherapy alone (CTx) at our department in a Japanese cancer referral center between February 2015 and July 2018. CRT resulted in significantly better PFS and OS than CTx. In the multivariate analyses, CRT following induction chemotherapy was identified as an independent prognostic factor for OS. In summary, patients with UR-LAPC experienced favorable treatment outcomes after receiving GnP as the first-line chemotherapy, especially when receiving additional CRT after tailored courses of induction chemotherapy. Thus, this treatment strategy represents a promising treatment option for selected patients with UR-LAPC.An optimal therapeutic strategy for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer (UR-LAPC) has not been established. This study investigated the therapeutic efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) following induction chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) (CRT group) compared with systemic chemotherapy alone (CTx group) in patients with UR-LAPC. This was a retrospective study of 63 consecutive patients with UR-LAPC treated at our department in a Japanese cancer referral center between February 2015 and July 2018. We excluded patients who underwent other regimens and those enrolled in another prospective study. The CRT group (n = 25) exhibited significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than the CTx group (n = 20, PFS 17.9 vs. 7.6 months, p = 0.044; OS 29.2 vs. 17.4 months, p < 0.001). In the multivariate analyses, CRT following induction chemotherapy was identified as an independent prognostic factor for OS. Seven (15.6%) patients underwent conversion surgery, all of whom were in the CRT group. The R0 resection rate was 85.7% (6/7). In summary, patients with UR-LAPC experienced favorable treatment outcomes after receiving GnP as the first-line chemotherapy, especially when receiving additional CRT. Thus, this treatment strategy represents a promising treatment option for selected patients with UR-LAPC.

Carbon ion radiotherapy as definitive treatment in non-metastasized pancreatic cancer: study protocol of the prospective phase II PACK-study

BackgroundRadiotherapy is known to improve local tumor control in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), although there is a lack of convincing data on a potential overall survival benefit of chemoradiotherapy over chemotherapy alone. To improve efficacy of radiotherapy, new approaches need to be evolved. Carbon ion radiotherapy is supposed to be more effective than photon radiotherapy due to a higher relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and due to a steep dose-gradient making dose delivery highly conformal.MethodsThe present Phase II PACK-study investigates carbon ion radiotherapy as definitive treatment in LAPC as well as in locally recurrent pancreatic cancer. A total irradiation dose of 48 Gy (RBE) will be delivered in twelve fractions. Concurrent chemotherapy is accepted, if indicated. The primary endpoint is the overall survival rate after 12 months. Secondary endpoints are progression free survival, safety, quality of life and impact on tumor markers CA 19–9 and CEA. A total of twenty-five patients are planned for recruitment over 2 years.DiscussionRecently, Japanese researches could show promising results in a Phase I/II-study evaluating chemoradiotherapy of carbon ion radiotherapy and gemcitabine in LAPC. The present prospective PACK-study investigates the efficacy of carbon ion radiotherapy in pancreatic cancer at Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center (HIT) in Germany.Trial registrationThe trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04194268 (Retrospectively registered on December, 11th 2019).

Oncologic Benefit of Adjuvant Chemoradiation after D2 Gastrectomy: A Stepwise Hierarchical Pooled Analysis and Systematic Review

Our study aimed to evaluate the benefits of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) after D2 gastrectomy, as compared to adjuvant chemotherapy, alone. PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched. We applied stepwise analyses that enabled the evaluation of data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), balanced studies, and all studies separately and in a hierarchical manner. Thirteen controlled studies, including six RCTs involving 2603 patients, were included. Overall pooled analysis revealed a disease-free survival benefit of CRT (odds ratio (OR): 1.264, p = 0.053), which was more evident in the subgroup analysis of RCTs (OR: 1.440, p = 0.006) and balanced studies (OR: 1.417, p < 0.001). Overall survival was insignificantly different in the overall pooled analysis (OR: 1.124, p = 0.347). However, the difference was marginally significant in the subgroup analysis of balanced studies (OR: 1.279, p = 0.055) and significant in the subgroup analysis of studies involving stage ≥III patients only (OR: 1.663, p = 0.005). Locoregional recurrence (LRR) reduction was noted in the overall pooled analysis (OR: 0.559, p = 0.012; pooled rate: 11.3% vs. 18.1%) and was more robust in the subgroup analyses. Grade ≥3 leukopenia was higher in the CRT arm (OR: 1.387, p = 0.004; pooled rate: 26.4% vs. 15.7%). CRT after D2 gastrectomy should be applied for patients with high risk of LRR (e.g., stage ≥ III), along with efforts to reduce leukopenia.

Chemoradiotherapy is associated with improved survival for resected pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study from the SEER database.

The prognosis of pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma (PASC) after surgery is poor. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prognostic factors of PASC and evaluate the efficacy of combination chemoradiotherapy. The patients' data retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (SEER) between 2004 and 2015 were stratified and analyzed in this study. The univariate and multivariate analysis were used for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). T staging, M staging, chemotherapy and radiotherapy is the independent prognostic indicator after PASC resection for both OS and CSS. In the total cohort, 44 patients had both chemo and radiotherapy, with median OS 23 months and CSS 29 months, which was significantly better than neither chemo nor radiotherapy group (68 patients, median OS 8 months and CSS 11 months), and either chemotherapy or radiotherapy group (91 patients, median OS 13 months and CSS 15 months). The survival benefit of chemoradiotherapy was validated in the specific group (n=159) who had only primary PASC. PASC patients receiving chemoradiotherapy had longer OS and CSS than those with neither chemo nor radiotherapy in TNM stage I, II and IV subgroups. The chemoradiotherapy revealed its prognostic superiority in PASC treatment.

Postoperative chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for elderly cervical cancer patients with positive margins, lymph nodes, or parametrial invasion.

ObjectiveWomen with cervical cancer (CC) found to have positive surgical margins, positive lymph nodes, and/or parametrial invasion receive a survival benefit from postoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) vs. radiation therapy (RT) alone. However, older women may not benefit to the same extent, as they are at increased risk of death from non-oncologic causes as well as toxicities from oncologic treatments. This study sought to evaluate whether there was a survival benefit of CRT over RT in elderly patients with cervical cancer.MethodsThe National Cancer Database was queried for patients ≥70 years old with newly diagnosed IA2, IB, or IIA CC and positive margins, parametrial invasion, and/or positive nodes on surgical resection. Statistics included logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier overall survival (OS), and Cox proportional hazards modeling analyses.ResultsAltogether, 166 patients met inclusion criteria; 62 (37%) underwent postoperative RT and 104 (63%) underwent postoperative CRT. Younger patients and those living in areas of higher income were less likely to receive CRT, while parametrial invasion and nodal involvement were associated with an increased likelihood (p<0.05 for all). There were no OS differences by treatment type. Subgroup analysis by number of risk factors, as well as each of the 3 risk factors separately, also did not reveal any OS differences between cohorts.ConclusionIn the largest such study to date, older women with postoperative risk factor(s) receiving RT alone experienced similar survival as those undergoing CRT. Although causation is not implied, careful patient selection is paramount to balance treatment-related toxicity risks with theoretical outcome benefits.

Role of surgery in multidisciplinary treatment for solid cancers

In the evolution of solid cancer, there are four steps: noninvasive tumor, local invasive cancer without metastasis, local invasive cancer with lymph node metastasis, and eventually systemic disease. For the first three phases, local treatment, including lymph node dissection, may cure the disease. The choice of local treatment depends on the tumor characteristics, but surgery remains important in many of these cancers. Gastric cancer is one of the typical tumors which remain locally invasive, with or without nodal metastasis, but without systemic metastasis for a rather long period. Metastasis to lymph nodes occurs, frequently even in T1 tumors, but seldom to other sites until the late stage. Thus, the target of local control is the regional lymph nodes. The Intergroup study IT-0116 proved the effect of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for curable gastric cancer, and thus proved the insufficiency of limited surgery (D0/1). The conventional method of local control for gastric cancer is surgery, including regional lymph node dissection (D2). However, the superiority of D2 has not been proven by randomized controlled trials (RCTs). But all RCTs so far have a crucial problem in the quality of treatment given in the D2 arm. D2 is not a dangerous procedure if done by specialists in large-volume hospitals. D0/1 plus CRT is better than D0/1 alone, but it may be worse than D2 alone. The survival benefit of CRT after D2 is an open question. Establishing standard adjuvant chemotherapy after D2 is a more urgent clinical issue, and there is no reason to abandon D2 gastrectomy for curable gastric cancer in Japan.