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Milano MT, Marks LB, Olch AJ, Yorke ED, Jackson A, Bentzen SM, Constine LS. Comparison of Risks of Late Effects From Radiation Therapy in Children Versus Adults: Insights From the QUANTEC, HyTEC, and PENTEC Efforts. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2024; 119:387-400. [PMID: 38069917 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.08.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) seeks to refine quantitative radiation dose-volume relationships for normal-tissue complication probabilities (NTCPs) in survivors of pediatric cancer. This article summarizes the evolution of PENTEC and compares it with similar adult-focused efforts (eg, Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic [QUANTEC] and Hypofractionated Treatment Effects in the Clinic [HyTEC]) with respect to content, oversight, support, scope, and methodology of literature review. It then summarizes key organ-specific findings from PENTEC in an attempt to compare NTCP estimates in children versus adults. In brief, select normal-tissue risks within developing organs and tissues (eg, maldevelopment of musculoskeletal tissue, teeth, breasts, and reproductive organs) are primarily relevant only in children. For some organs and tissues, children appear to have similar (eg, brain for necrosis, optic apparatus, parotid gland, liver), greater (eg, brain for neurocognition, cerebrovascular, breast for lactation), less (ovary), or perhaps slightly less (eg, lung) risks of toxicity versus adults. Similarly, even within the broad pediatric age range (including adolescence), for some endpoints, younger children have greater (eg, hearing and brain for neurocognition) or lesser (eg, ovary, thyroid) risks of radiation-associated toxicities. NTCP comparisons in adults versus children are often confounded by marked differences in treatment paradigms that expose normal tissues to radiation (ie, cancer types, prescribed radiation therapy dose and fields, and chemotherapy agents used). To add to the complexity, it is unclear if age is best analyzed as a continuous variable versus with age groupings (eg, infants, young children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, older adults). Further work is needed to better understand the complex manner in which age and developmental status affect risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Milano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
| | - Lawrence B Marks
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Lineberger Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Arthur J Olch
- Radiation Oncology Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles/Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ellen D Yorke
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Andrew Jackson
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Søren M Bentzen
- Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Louis S Constine
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
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Wellbrock M, Voigt M, Ronckers C, Grabow D, Spix C, Erdmann F. Registration, incidence patterns, and survival trends of central nervous system tumors among children in Germany 1980-2019: An analysis of 40 years based on data from the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2024; 71:e30954. [PMID: 38532243 DOI: 10.1002/pbc.30954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are the second most common type of pediatric cancer in Germany. We aimed to describe registration practice, incidence, and survival patterns for childhood CNS tumors in Germany for the past 40 years. PROCEDURE Including all CNS tumor cases in children diagnosed at ages 0-14 years registered at the German Childhood Cancer Registry (GCCR) in 1980-2019 (for survival analysis 1980-2016), we calculated age-specific and age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) over time, average annual percentage changes (AAPC), and 1- and 5-year overall survival. RESULTS While we observed a pronounced increase in ASIR after the establishment of the GCCR during the 1980s, ASIR for all pediatric CNS tumors combined continued to increase markedly from 28.6 per million in 1990-1999 to 43.3 in 2010-2019 (AAPC = 2.7% in 1991-2010, AAPC = 0.3% in 2010-2019). The 5-year overall survival from CNS tumors improved from 63% in the 1980s, 70% in the 1990s to 79% in 2010-2016. These improvements have occurred across all age groups. Children diagnosed with ependymomas and choroid plexus tumors experienced the strongest increase (from 54% to 81%). CONCLUSIONS Observed increases in incidence rates for pediatric CNS tumors are likely only partially caused by actual increasing case numbers. The majority is a function of improved registration and, to a minor extent, improvements in diagnostics. Survival from pediatric CNS tumors has, by and large, improved consistently, leading to a growing population of childhood cancer survivors with diverse health biographies and risk of lifelong adverse impact on health and wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maike Wellbrock
- Research Group Aetiology and Inequalities in Childhood Cancer, Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Prevention and Evaluation, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany
| | - Mathias Voigt
- German Childhood Cancer Registry/Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Cecile Ronckers
- German Childhood Cancer Registry/Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Desiree Grabow
- German Childhood Cancer Registry/Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Claudia Spix
- German Childhood Cancer Registry/Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Friederike Erdmann
- Research Group Aetiology and Inequalities in Childhood Cancer, Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Prevention and Evaluation, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany
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Bentzen SM, Vogelius IR, Hodgson D, Howell R, Jackson A, Hua CH, Olch AJ, Ronckers C, Kremer L, Milano M, Marks LB, Constine LS. Radiation Dose-Volume-Response Relationships for Adverse Events in Childhood Cancer Survivors: Introduction to the Scientific Issues in PENTEC. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2024; 119:338-353. [PMID: 38760115 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.11.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
At its very core, radiation oncology involves a trade-off between the benefits and risks of exposing tumors and normal tissue to relatively high doses of ionizing radiation. This trade-off is particularly critical in childhood cancer survivors (CCS), in whom both benefits and risks can be hugely consequential due to the long life expectancy if the primary cancer is controlled. Estimating the normal tissue-related risks of a specific radiation therapy plan in an individual patient relies on predictive mathematical modeling of empirical data on adverse events. The Pediatric Normal-Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) collaborative network was formed to summarize and, when possible, to synthesize dose-volume-response relationships for a range of adverse events incident in CCS based on the literature. Normal-tissue clinical radiation biology in children is particularly challenging for many reasons: (1) Childhood malignancies are relatively uncommon-constituting approximately 1% of new incident cancers in the United States-and biologically heterogeneous, leading to many small series in the literature and large variability within and between series. This creates challenges in synthesizing data across series. (2) CCS are at an elevated risk for a range of adverse health events that are not specific to radiation therapy. Thus, excess relative or absolute risk compared with a reference population becomes the appropriate metric. (3) Various study designs and quantities to express risk are found in the literature, and these are summarized. (4) Adverse effects in CCS often occur 30, 50, or more years after therapy. This limits the information content of series with even very extended follow-up, and lifetime risk estimates are typically extrapolations that become dependent on the mathematical model used. (5) The long latent period means that retrospective dosimetry is required, as individual computed tomography-based radiation therapy plans gradually became available after 1980. (6) Many individual patient-level factors affect outcomes, including age at exposure, attained age, lifestyle exposures, health behaviors, other treatment modalities, dose, fractionation, and dose distribution. (7) Prospective databases with individual patient-level data and radiation dosimetry are being built and will facilitate advances in dose-volume-response modeling. We discuss these challenges and attempts to overcome them in the setting of PENTEC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Søren M Bentzen
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
| | - Ivan R Vogelius
- Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - David Hodgson
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rebecca Howell
- Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Andrew Jackson
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Chia-Ho Hua
- Department of Radiation Oncology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
| | - Arthur J Olch
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Cecile Ronckers
- Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Leontien Kremer
- Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Milano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Lawrence B Marks
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Louis S Constine
- Department of Radiation Oncology, James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
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Hua CH, Bentzen SM, Li Y, Milano MT, Rancati T, Marks LB, Constine LS, Yorke ED, Jackson A. Improving Pediatric Normal Tissue Radiation Dose-Response Modeling in Children With Cancer: A PENTEC Initiative. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2024; 119:369-386. [PMID: 38276939 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.11.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The development of normal tissue radiation dose-response models for children with cancer has been challenged by many factors, including small sample sizes; the long length of follow-up needed to observe some toxicities; the continuing occurrence of events beyond the time of assessment; the often complex relationship between age at treatment, normal tissue developmental dynamics, and age at assessment; and the need to use retrospective dosimetry. Meta-analyses of published pediatric outcome studies face additional obstacles of incomplete reporting of critical dosimetric, clinical, and statistical information. This report describes general methods used to address some of the pediatric modeling issues. It highlights previous single- and multi-institutional pediatric dose-response studies and summarizes how each PENTEC taskforce addressed the challenges and limitations of the reviewed publications in constructing, when possible, organ-specific dose-effect models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Ho Hua
- Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee.
| | - Søren M Bentzen
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Yimei Li
- Department of Biostatics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
| | - Michael T Milano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Tiziana Rancati
- Data Science Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Lawrence B Marks
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Lineberger Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Louis S Constine
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Ellen D Yorke
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Andrew Jackson
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
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Jackson A, Hua CH, Olch A, Yorke ED, Rancati T, Milano MT, Constine LS, Marks LB, Bentzen SM. Reporting Standards for Complication Studies of Radiation Therapy for Pediatric Cancer: Lessons From PENTEC. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2024; 119:697-707. [PMID: 38760117 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
The major aim of Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) was to synthesize quantitative published dose/-volume/toxicity data in pediatric radiation therapy. Such systematic reviews are often challenging because of the lack of standardization and difficulty of reporting outcomes, clinical factors, and treatment details in journal articles. This has clinical consequences: optimization of treatment plans must balance between the risks of toxicity and local failure; counseling patients and their parents requires knowledge of the excess risks encountered after a specific treatment. Studies addressing outcomes after pediatric radiation therapy are particularly challenging because: (a) survivors may live for decades after treatment, and the latency time to toxicity can be very long; (b) children's maturation can be affected by radiation, depending on the developmental status of the organs involved at time of treatment; and (c) treatment regimens frequently involve chemotherapies, possibly modifying and adding to the toxicity of radiation. Here we discuss: basic reporting strategies to account for the actuarial nature of the complications; the reporting of modeling of abnormal development; and the need for standardized, comprehensively reported data sets and multivariate models (ie, accounting for the simultaneous effects of radiation dose, age, developmental status at time of treatment, and chemotherapy dose). We encourage the use of tools that facilitate comprehensive reporting, for example, electronic supplements for journal articles. Finally, we stress the need for clinicians to be able to trust artificial intelligence models of outcome of radiation therapy, which requires transparency, rigor, reproducibility, and comprehensive reporting. Adopting the reporting methods discussed here and in the individual PENTEC articles will increase the clinical and scientific usefulness of individual reports and associated pooled analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Jackson
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
| | - Chia-Ho Hua
- Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
| | - Arthur Olch
- Radiation Oncology Department, University of Southern California and Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ellen D Yorke
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Tiziana Rancati
- Data Science Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Michael T Milano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Wilmot Cancer Institute, Rochester, New York
| | - Louis S Constine
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Wilmot Cancer Institute, Rochester, New York; Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Wilmot Cancer Institute, Rochester, New York
| | - Lawrence B Marks
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Lineberger Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Soren M Bentzen
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
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Stokkevåg CH, Journy N, Vogelius IR, Howell RM, Hodgson D, Bentzen SM. Radiation Therapy Technology Advances and Mitigation of Subsequent Neoplasms in Childhood Cancer Survivors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2024; 119:681-696. [PMID: 38430101 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.01.206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE In this Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) vision paper, challenges and opportunities in the assessment of subsequent neoplasms (SNs) from radiation therapy (RT) are presented and discussed in the context of technology advancement. METHODS AND MATERIALS The paper discusses the current knowledge of SN risks associated with historic, contemporary, and future RT technologies. Opportunities for research and SN mitigation strategies in pediatric patients with cancer are reviewed. RESULTS Present experience with radiation carcinogenesis is from populations exposed during widely different scenarios. Knowledge gaps exist within clinical cohorts and follow-up; dose-response and volume effects; dose-rate and fractionation effects; radiation quality and proton/particle therapy; age considerations; susceptibility of specific tissues; and risks related to genetic predisposition. The biological mechanisms associated with local and patient-level risks are largely unknown. CONCLUSIONS Future cancer care is expected to involve several available RT technologies, necessitating evidence and strategies to assess the performance of competing treatments. It is essential to maximize the utilization of existing follow-up while planning for prospective data collection, including standardized registration of individual treatment information with linkage across patient databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla H Stokkevåg
- Department of Oncology and Medical Physics, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
| | - Neige Journy
- French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) Unit 1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Paris Saclay University, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
| | - Ivan R Vogelius
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Centre for Cancer and Organ Diseases and University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rebecca M Howell
- Department of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - David Hodgson
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Søren M Bentzen
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
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