Twenty-four-month postradiation prostate biopsies are strongly predictive of 7-year disease-free survival

Sunitinib plus androgen deprivation and radiation therapy for patients with localized high-risk prostate cancer: results from a multi-institutional phase 1 study

PURPOSE

To evaluate the feasibility of administering sunitinib in combination with androgen deprivation therapy and external-beam intensity modulated radiation therapy (XRT) in patients with localized high-risk prostate cancer.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Seventeen men with localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate with cT2c-cT4 or Gleason 8-10 or prostate-specific antigen >20 ng/mL received initial androgen deprivation (leuprolide 22.5 mg every 12 weeks plus oral bicalutamide 50 mg daily) for 4-8 weeks before oral sunitinib 12.5, 25, or 37.5 mg daily for 4 weeks as lead-in, then concurrently with and 4 weeks after XRT (75.6 Gy in 42 fractions to prostate and seminal vesicles). A 3+3 sequential dose-escalation design was used to assess the frequency of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and establish a maximal tolerated dose of sunitinib.

RESULTS

Sunitinib at 12.5- and 25-mg dose levels was well tolerated. The first 4 patients enrolled at 37.5 mg experienced a DLT during lead-in, and a drug interaction between sunitinib and bicalutamide was suspected. The protocol was revised and concurrent bicalutamide omitted. Of the next 3 patients enrolled at 37.5 mg, 2 of 3 receiving concurrent therapy experienced DLTs during radiation: grade 3 diarrhea and grade 3 proctitis, respectively. Only 1 of 7 patients completed sunitinib at 37.5 mg daily, whereas 3 of 3 patients (25 mg as starting dose) and 3 of 4 patients (25 mg as reduced dose) completed therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The feasibility of combined vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)/platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) inhibitor therapy, androgen deprivation, and radiation therapy for prostate cancer was established. Using a daily dosing regimen with lead-in, concurrent, and post-XRT therapy, the recommended phase 2 dose of sunitinib is 25 mg daily.

Focal high-dose-rate brachytherapy: a dosimetric comparison of hemigland vs. conventional whole-gland treatment

PURPOSE

To determine the utility of focal high-dose-rate brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer, we investigated the impact on target coverage and dose to organs at risk (OARs) with hemigland (HG) compared with whole-gland (WG) treatment.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A total of 10 WG implants were used to generate 10 WG and 20 HG (left and right) treatment plans optimized with the inverse planning simulation annealing algorithm using Oncentra MasterPlan (Nucletron B.V., Veenendaal, The Netherlands). The standard distribution of 17-18 catheters designed for WG was used to generate HG plans. The same OARs namely bladder, rectum, and urethra contours and dose constraints were applied for HG and WG plans. The HG contour was a modification of the WG contour whereby the urethra divided the prostate into HGs. The prescription dose was 7.25 Gy×6. Evaluated dose parameters were target dose D90, V100, and V150 and D0.1 cc, D1 cc, and D2 cc to OARs.

RESULTS

The HG plans had a D90, V100, and V150 to the HG target of 112%, 97.6%, and 33.8%, respectively. The WG plans had a D90, V100, and V150 to the WG target of 108%, 98.8%, and 26.5%, respectively. The OAR D2 cc doses were significantly lower in HG vs. WG plans: rectum (53.1% vs. 64.1%, p<0.0001), bladder (55.9% vs. 67.5%, p<0.0001), and urethra (69.3% vs. 95.2%, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

In the present model, HG plans yielded a statistically significant decreased radiation dose to OARs and provided complete target coverage with a catheter array designed for WG coverage. The good dosimetry results obtained in this study support the feasibility of HG brachytherapy by using a subset of the WG catheter array. Catheter distribution and dosimetry refinements tailored to subtotal prostate brachytherapy should be explored to see if further improvements in dosimetry can be achieved.

Short-term versus long-term hormone therapy plus radiotherapy or prostatectomy for prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

To compare the efficacy and safety of short-term versus long-term hormonotherapy (HT) plus radiotherapy (RT) or prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer.

METHODS

Literatures were searched from Embase, PubMed, Web of science and Cochrane Library up to October, 2012. Quality of the study was evaluated according to the Cochrane's risk of bias of randomized controlled trial (RCT); the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation System was used to rate the level of evidence. RevMan 5.1 was used for statistical analysis. Two comparisons were of interest: RT plus short-term HT versus RT plus long-term HT and RP plus short-term HT versus RP plus long-term HT. Pooled risk ratio or standardized mean differences were calculated; HT adverse reactions were descriptively evaluated.

RESULTS

Nine RCTs (total 4,743 patients) were included, 7 RCTs compared RT plus short-term HT with RT plus long-term HT, 2 RCTs compared RP plus short-term HT with RP plus long-term HT. Meta-analysis showed there was no significant difference in overall survival, disease-free survival and PSA level before RP; long-term was superior to short-term hormonotherapy in biochemical failure rate, clinical progression rate, prostate cancer-specific mortality, positive surgical margin rate and prostate volume before RP. Systematic review demonstrated adverse events caused by the increased length of HT were more common.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term HT plus RT showed a trend toward improved overall survival; long-term HT plus RP declined positive surgical margin rate and prostate volume before RP. So, long-term HT may benefit more, but it did not significantly improve the patients' overall survival, and the adverse reactions are inevitable.

Conformal radiotherapy plus high dose rate brachytherapy prostate boost in patients with intermediate and high risk prostate cancer: our experience in Asian males

Purpose: Recent studies have shown increased prostate cancer control rates with radiation dose escalation. Herein the experience of dose escalation by high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) adjunct to the three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) for prostate cancer is presented.

Patients and methods: During the period between August 2005 and July 2007, patients with intermediate and high risk prostate cancer were treated with 3D-CRT of dose 46Gy ÷ 23 fractions to whole pelvis followed by: Arm A (102 patients): prostate boost with HDR-BT 14 Gy × 2 sessions and Arm B (103 patients): prostate boost via 3D-CRT of dose 26 Gy ÷ 13 fractions. Primary objectives were overall survival (OS), distant metastases free survival (DMFS) and PSA progression free survival (PPFS) rates. Secondary objectives were the toxicity profile and post-radiation histopathological response.

Results: At median follow up of 3.5 years, PPFS, DMFS and OS rates were; 97.8% versus 89.0% (p = 0.009), 98.1% versus 93.6% (p = 0.13) and 98.8% versus 91.6% (p = 0.24) in Arm A and Arm B. respectively. Grade 3 or 4 delayed genitourinary toxicities occurred in 2% and 4.8% of patients in Arm A and Arm B, respectively. Delayed grade 3 and 4 gastrointestinal toxicities were seen in 2% and 3.9% of patients in Arm A and Arm B, respectively. The post-radiation prostate biopsies were negative in 14/17(82.3%) and 9/15 (60%) in Arm A and Arm B, respectively.

Conclusion: 3D-CRT combined with HDR-BT resulted in better PPFS and lower morbidity than 3DCRT alone for intermediate and high risk prostate cancer.

Radiotherapy doses of 80 Gy and higher are associated with lower mortality in men with Gleason score 8 to 10 prostate cancer

PURPOSE

Men with Gleason score (GS) 8-10 prostate cancer (PCa) are assumed to have a high risk of micrometastatic disease at presentation. However, local failure is also a major problem. We sought to establish the importance of more aggressive local radiotherapy (RT) to ≥80 Gy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

There were 226 men treated consecutively with RT ± ADT from 1988 to 2002 for GS 8-10 PCa. Conventional, three-dimensional conformal or intensity-modulated (IM) RT was used. Radiation dose was divided into three groups: (1) <75 Gy (n = 50); (2) 75-79.9 Gy (n = 60); or (3) ≥80 Gy (n = 116). The endpoints examined included biochemical failure (BF; nadir + 2 definition), distant metastasis (DM), cause-specific mortality, and overall mortality (OM).

RESULTS

Median follow-up was 66, 71, and 58 months for Groups 1, 2, and 3. On Fine and Gray's competing risk regression analysis, significant predictors of reduced BF were RT dose ≥80 Gy (p = 0.011) and androgen deprivation therapy duration ≥24 months (p = 0.033). In a similar model of DM, only RT dose ≥80 Gy was significant (p = 0.007). On Cox regression analysis, significant predictors of reduced OM were RT dose ≥80 Gy (p = 0.035) and T category (T3/4 vs. T1, p = 0.041). Dose was not a significant determinant of cause-specific mortality. Results for RT dose were similar in a model with RT dose and ADT duration as continuous variables.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that RT dose escalation to ≥80 Gy is associated with lower risks of BF, DM, and OM in men with GS 8-10 PCa, independently of androgen deprivation therapy.

Curative radiation therapy in prostate cancer

Radiotherapy has experienced an extremely rapid development in recent years. Important improvements such as the introduction of multileaf collimators and computed tomography (CT)-based treatment planning software have enabled three dimensional conformal external beam radiation therapy (3DCRT). The development of treatment planning systems and technology for brachytherapy has been very rapid as well. Development of accelerators with integrated on-board imaging equipment and technology, for example image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) has further improved the precision with reduced margins to adjacent normal tissues. This has, in turn, led to the possibility to administer even higher doses to the prostate than previously. Although radiotherapy and radical prostatectomy have been used for the last decades as curative treatment modalities, still there are no randomized trials published comparing these two options. Outcome data show that the two treatment modalities are highly comparable when used for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Persistent, biologically meaningful prostate cancer after 1 year of androgen ablation and docetaxel treatment

PURPOSE

Clinicians are increasingly willing to treat prostate cancer within the primary site in the presence of regional lymph node or even limited distant metastases. However, no formal study on the merits of this approach has been reported. We used a preoperative clinical discovery platform to prioritize pathways for assessment as therapeutic targets and to test the hypothesis that the primary site harbors potentially lethal tumors after aggressive treatment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with locally advanced or lymph node-metastatic prostate cancer underwent 1 year of androgen ablation and three cycles of docetaxel therapy, followed by prostatectomy. All specimens were characterized for stage by accepted criteria. Expression of select molecular markers implicated in disease progression and therapy resistance was determined immunohistochemically and compared with that in 30 archived specimens from untreated patients with high-grade prostate cancer. Marker expression was divided into three groups: intracellular signaling pathways, stromal-epithelial interaction pathways, and angiogenesis.

RESULTS

Forty patients were enrolled, 30 (75%) of whom underwent prostatectomy and two (5%) who underwent cystoprostatectomy. Twenty-nine specimens contained sufficient residual tumor for inclusion in a tissue microarray. Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased epithelial and stromal expression of CYP17, SRD5A1, and Hedgehog pathway components, and modulations of the insulin-like growth factor I pathway.

CONCLUSION

A network of molecular pathways reportedly linked to prostate cancer progression is activated after 1 year of therapy; biomarker expression suggests that potentially lethal cancers persist in the primary tumor and may contribute to progression.

Side-effects of post-treatment biopsies in prostate cancer patients treated with endocrine therapy alone or combined with radical radiotherapy in the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group-7 randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

Post-treatment prostate biopsy side-effects were evaluated in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer on endocrine therapy alone or combined with radiotherapy in the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group-7 randomized trial.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

One-hundred and twenty patients underwent transrectalultrasound-guided biopsy, and were requested to complete a questionnaire on side-effects occurring within 7 days' follow-up.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was returned by 109 patients (91%) (endocrine therapy only 52%, combined endocrine therapy and radiotherapy 48%). Previous therapy had no significant influence on pain, urinary flow, haematuria or haematospermia. Pain at biopsy was reported in 63% (mild, 57%; moderate, 5.6%; severe, one patient) and pain at follow-up in 31% (mild, 27%; moderate, four patients). Haematuria (mean duration 2.2 days) was reported in 41%, and reduced urinary flow in 20% (mild, 18%; severe: four patients; no patient had urinary retention). Haematospermia was scarce. No patient reported urinary tract infection. Rectal bleeding occurred in 18% in the endocrine and 35% in the combined therapy group (p = 0.047), with a mean duration of 1.6 and 2.2 days, respectively (p = 0.031). In logistic regression analysis, a trend towards increased rectal bleeding was found in patients on combined endocrine therapy and radiotherapy (odds ratio 2.4, p = 0.050).

CONCLUSION

Patient-reported post-treatment prostate biopsy side-effects were mild and self-limiting.

Transperineal prostate brachytherapy, using I-125 seed with or without adjuvant androgen deprivation, in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer: study protocol for a phase III, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial

Background

The optimal protocol for ¹²⁵I-transperineal prostatic brachytherapy (TPPB) in intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients remains controversial. Data on the efficacy of combining androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with ¹²⁵I-TPPB in this group remain limited and consequently the guidelines of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) provide no firm recommendations.

Methods/Design

Seed and Hormone for Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer (SHIP) 0804 is a phase III, multicenter, randomized, controlled study that will investigate the impact of adjuvant ADT following neoadjuvant ADT and ¹²⁵I-TPPB. Prior to the end of March, 2011, a total of 420 patients with intermediate-risk, localized PCa will be enrolled and randomized to one of two treatment arms. These patients will be recruited from 20 institutions, all of which have broad experience of ¹²⁵I-TPPB. Pathological slides will be centrally reviewed to confirm patient eligibility. The patients will initially undergo 3-month ADT prior to ¹²⁵I-TPPB. Those randomly assigned to adjuvant therapy will subsequently undergo 9 months of adjuvant ADT. All participants will be assessed at baseline and at the following intervals: every 3 months for the first 24 months following ¹²⁵I-TPPB, every 6 months during the 24- to 60-month post-¹²⁵I-TPPB interval, annually between 60 and 84 months post-¹²⁵I-TPPB, and on the 10th anniversary of treatment.

The primary endpoint is biochemical progression-free survival (BPFS). Secondary endpoints are overall survival (OS), clinical progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, salvage therapy non-adaptive interval, acceptability (assessed using the international prostate symptom score [IPSS]), quality of life (QOL) evaluation, and adverse events. In the correlative study (SHIP36B), we also evaluate biopsy results at 36 months following treatment to examine the relationship between the results and the eventual recurrence after completion of radiotherapy.

Discussion

These two multicenter trials (SHIP0804 & SHIP36B) are expected to provide crucial data regarding the efficacy, acceptability and safety of adjuvant ADT. SHIP36B will also provide important information about the prognostic implications of PSA levels in intermediate-risk PCa patients treated with ¹²⁵I-TPPB.

Trial registration

NCT00664456, NCT00898326, JUSMH-BRI-GU05-01, JUSMH-TRIGU0709

Current salvage methods for recurrent prostate cancer after failure of primary radiotherapy

We reviewed the current salvage methods for patients with local recurrent prostate cancer after primary radiotherapy (RT), using a search of relevant Medline/PubMed articles published from 1982 to 2008, with the following search terms: 'radiorecurrent prostate cancer, local salvage treatment, salvage radical prostatectomy (RP), salvage cryoablation, salvage brachytherapy, salvage high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)', and permutations of the above. Only articles written in English were included. The objectives of this review were to analyse the eligibility criteria for careful selection of appropriate patients and to evaluate the oncological results and complications for each method. There are four whole-gland re-treatment options (salvage RP, salvage cryoablation, salvage brachytherapy, salvage HIFU) for RT failure, although others might be in development or investigations. Salvage RP has the longest follow-up with acceptable oncological results, but it is a challenging technique with a high complication rate. Salvage cryoablation is a feasible option, especially using third-generation technology, whereby the average biochemical disease-free survival rate is 50-70% and there are fewer occurrences of severe complications such as recto-urethral fistula. Salvage brachytherapy, with short-term cancer control, is comparable to other salvage methods but depends on cumulative dosage limitation to target tissues. HIFU is a relatively recent option in the salvage setting. Both salvage brachytherapy and HIFU require more detailed studies with intermediate and long-term follow-up. As these are not prospective, randomized studies and the definitions of biochemical failure varied, there are limited comparisons among these different salvage methods, including efficacy. In the focal therapy salvage setting, the increased use of thermoablative methods for eligible patients might contribute to reducing complications and maintaining quality of life. The problem to effectively salvage patients with locally recurrent disease after RT is the lack of diagnostic examinations with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to detect local recurrence at an early curable stage. Therefore, a more strict definition of biochemical failure, improved imaging techniques, and accurate specimen mapping are needed as diagnostic tools. Furthermore, universal selection criteria and an integrated definition of biochemical failure for all salvage methods are required to determine which provides the best oncological efficacy and least comorbidity.