A cohort of 650 patients treated for localized prostate cancer (PCa) with CyberKnifeTM ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy between 2011 and 2018 was retrospectively analyzed in terms of survival, patterns of failure, and outcomes of second-line definitive salvage therapies. The analysis was performed using survival analysis including the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis. At a median follow-up of 49.4 months, the main pattern of failure was local–regional failure (7.4% in low-, and 13% in intermediate/high-risk group at five years), followed by distant metastases (3.6% in low-, and 6% in intermediate/high-risk group at five years). Five-year likelihood of developing a second malignancy was 7.3%; however, in the vast majority of the cases, the association with prior irradiation was unlikely. The 5-year overall survival was 90.2% in low-, and 88.8% in intermediate/high-risk patients. The independent prognostic factors for survival included age (HR 1.1; 95% CI 1.07–1.14) and occurrence of a second malignancy (HR 3.67; 95% CI 2.19–6.15). Definitive local salvage therapies were feasible in the majority of the patients with local–regional failure, and uncommonly in patients with distant metastases, with an estimated second-line progression free survival of 67.8% at two years. Competing oncological risks and age were significantly more important for patients’ survival compared to primary disease recurrence.
Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) has been widely implemented as a diagnostic tool for significant prostate cancer (PCa); less is known about its prognostic value, especially in the setting of primary radiotherapy. We aimed to analyze the association between PI-RADS v. 2.1 classification and risk of metastases, based on a group of 152 patients treated with ultra-hypofractionated stereotactic CyberKnife radiotherapy for localized low or intermediate risk-group prostate cancer. We found that all distant failures (n = 5) occurred in patients diagnosed with a PI-RADS score of 5, and axial measurements of the target lesion were associated with the risk of developing metastases (p < 0.001). The best risk stratification model (based on a combination of greatest dimension, the product of multiplication of PI-RADS target lesion axial measurements, and age) achieved a c-index of 0.903 (bootstrap-validated bias-corrected 95% CI: 0.848–0.901). This creates a hypothesis that PI-RADS 5 and the size of the target lesion are important prognostic factors in early-stage PCa patients and should be considered as an adverse prognostic measure for patients undergoing early treatment such as radiation or focal therapy.
The optimal timing of adjuvant radiochemotherapy (RCT) in glioblastoma (GBM) patients remains unknown and the paradigm of 'the sooner, the better' has been challenged by many recent publications. In this study, we present unique data on the outcomes of patients with significant treatment delays. The study group consisted of 346 GBM patients (median age 56.8 years) who received surgical treatment (total or subtotal resection) and then underwent adjuvant concurrent RCT at one institution. The main endpoint was overall survival (OS). The Univariate and multivariate Cox Proportional-Hazard Model, log-rank test, and Kaplan-Meier method were used for the analysis. The median OS was 18.7 months and the 5year overall survival was 8.5%. The median time interval from surgery to RCT was 9.8 weeks. The Cox regression showed that the time interval had no statistically significant impact on OS both in uni-and multivariate analysis. The explorative analysis suggested a positive trend for improved survival for patients in the 1st quartile of the time interval, especially for patients with residual disease or local recurrence prior to RCT, However, considering the 6.9 weeks median interval in the 1st quartile, this subgroup should still be regarded as 'moderate delay' compared with other literature data. The results indicate that the time interval is not a clear prognostic factor in the treatment of GBM. Prospective trials are highly warranted, as data suggest that moderate delays in the initiation of adjuvant treatment might be associated with survival benefit.
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