Dyadic coping among breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy

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Background: Cancer poses a major stressor for patients and their partners. Understanding dyad coping is useful for determining if one partner's involvement is beneficial or harmful to the other. We sought to evaluate whether dyadic coping enhances resilience in the context of other risk and protective factors for coping with serious illness. Methods: An IRB-approved questionnaire was offered to breast cancer patients and their spouses. Consent was obtained from 21 dyads who were queried prior to initiation of breast irradiation and within 2 weeks of completing treatment. The nature of dyadic coping (positive or negative), level of posttraumatic stress, functional impairment, depression, and markers of resiliency were assessed for each partner at the beginning and conclusion of therapy. Results: Depression was significantly higher in patients than in their spouses (df = 1, 13; F = 6.13; p = 0.028). Over the course of the radiotherapy, partner's depression improved while the patient's depression worsened (df=1,13; F=5.46; p=0.030). The patient's negative dyadic coping assessment before radiation therapy was positively associated with depression (β = 0.78; df = 31.3; t = 2.15; p = 0.04), as well as the partner's depression (β = 0.92; df = 31.3; t = 2.52; p = 0.017) and posttraumatic stress (β = 0.74; df = 31.7; t = 2.10; p = 0.04). Patient's pre-radiation negative dyadic coping was negatively associated with the partner's flexibility (β = -.21; df = 19; t = -2.28; p = 0.03) and self efficacy (β = 0.46; df = 21.8; t = 2.96; p = 0.007) at completion of therapy. Positive dyadic coping assessment was not associated with negative coping behaviors on the part of either the patient or partner. Conclusions: The results of this pilot study support interventions incorporating dyadic support to enhance the resilience of patients and partners. Intervention should promote flexibility and self-efficacy while providing tools for altering negative dyadic coping patterns.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Hypofractionated radiation therapy for palliation of sarcoma metastases

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Background: RT is our preferred modality for local palliation of metastatic STS, regardless of systemic chemotherapy. While a protracted course of RT may be given as postoperative adjuvant treatment, a short and intense course of RT is usually needed for rapid palliation and local control of metastatic disease. Sarcomas are usually considered, at best, as moderately radio responsive tumors. RT doses within the range of 60 - 70 Gy are usually needed to be delivered in order to eradicate microscopic disease, while 50 Gy doses are needed for other malignancies such as breast or rectal cancer. Methods: Seventeen patients, 8 women and 9 men, at a median age of 61 years (range 53–95 years) had symptomatic metastatic sarcoma, and required rapid palliation. In total there were 20 sites of involvement by metastatic disease: trunk (chest wall, groin, axilla)- 13 cases, limb- 7 cases. The symptoms related to the metastases were either pain or discomfort in all the patients. In 15 cases the RT was the only modality for local palliation and in 5 cases RT was given following metastasectomy with close or involved margins. All the patients were treated by a short and intensive course of administration: 39 Gy were given in 13 fractions of 3 Gy/day, 5 times a week. Results: Median follow-up period was 25 weeks. The treatment was well tolerated. Acute side effects included first-degree burn (skin redness) and mild superficial pain in all the cases. No wound complications were noted among those undergoing surgery. Late side effects included skin pigmentation and induration of irradiated soft tissues. Durable pain control was achieved in 12 out 15 cases treated for gross metastases. Tumor progression was seen in the 3 other cases within a period of 2 to 9 months. Among 5 lesions which were irradiated as an adjunctive treatment following resection, no local recurrence was observed. Conclusions: The results of this series, although limited in size, point to the safety and feasibility of hypofractionated RT for palliation of musculoskeletal metastases from sarcoma.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

3-D non-coplanar conformal radiotherapy compared to traditional beam arrangements for the adjuvant treatment of gastric cancer

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Background: The Current standard of adjuvant treatment for gastric cancer following curative resection is concurrent administration of radiation and 5FU-based chemotherapy (INT0116). Radiation fields are often arranged as AP-PA opposed parallel fields with general recommendations for sparing at least two thirds of one kidney. In the current trial we investigated whether a better radiation distribution is achievable with 3-D conformal approaches as opposed to classical AP-PA fields. Methods: Nineteen patients with adenocarcinoma of stomach were treated by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy using a non-coplanar four field arrangement. In each case parallel planning by AP-PA arrangement and four fields “box was carried out and the generated plans were subsequently compared with dose volume histograms (DVH). Adequate coverage of the CTV was the basis for a comparison between other planning parameters. Separate analysis was performed not for right and left kidney but rather for kidneys exposed to higher and lower doses in each patient (since kidney dose is mostly a function of tumor location inside the stomach and respective nodal drainage). Mean dose of irradiation (MD) and percentage of kidney volume receiving radiation over 20 Gy (V20) were registered. Statistical analysis was performed by 2-tailed T-test. Results: The clinical target volume was adequately covered in all three plannings. In the “higher dose” kidneys group all the differences were statistically significant with the benefit of 3-D plan. In the “lower dose” kidneys group MD differences didn’t reach the level of statistical significance, while V20 data showed statistically significant benefit for 3-D plan. These data indicate that even when the mean doses of radiation are similar, 3-D planning can result in better distribution within the organ - thereby reducing the percentage of organ receiving dose above 20 Gy. DVH of spine was significantly better in 3-D planning. The exposure of liver was minimal in AP-PA technique. Conclusion: Noncoplanar 3-D based conformal planning for postoperative radiation therapy of gastric cancer provides the best results regarding kidney and spinal cord exposure with adequate CTV coverage.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

A common sense approach to radiation treatment planning of temporal lobe GBM

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Background: Irradiation remains the cornerstone of management for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Guidelines adopted by the RTOG and EORTC advocate encompassing the primary tumor (sometimes with edema), and a 2 cm margin in the high dose volume. These recommendations have emerged from imaging studies and post-mortem analyses. A shortcoming of this approach is the exposure of critical structures (e.g. optic apparatus) to doses of radiation that may exceed organ tolerance. We sought to determine whether the temporal bone (rather than the aforementioned 2 cm radius) serves as a barrier to tumor spread when regarded as the anterior margin for temporal lobe lesions. We hypothesized that toxicity could be reduced without compromising tumor control. Methods: During the period 2003–2006, 250 patients with GBM were treated with surgery and primary irradiation at our institution. Chemotherapy (e.g., Stupp regimen) was given to approximately one-third of patients. 31 patients had lesions confined to the temporal lobe. All patients had MRI at baseline and at monthly intervals following a course of 60 Gy delivered by conformal techniques. The Clinical Target Volume included the primary lesion, the edema when present and a 2 cm margin except in the direction of the temporal bone. At follow-up (median = 10 months), patients were judged to have stable disease, local progression (i.e. failure within the temporal lobe), distant progression (i.e., brain failure beyond the temporal lobe) or combinations of the latter 2. Results: 11 patients have remained with stable disease. 17 have failed locally. 3 have manifested distant failure. Of the latter, only one patient failed in the infratemporal fossa. Conclusions: An acceptable level of recurrence (e.g., <5% beyond the temporal bone) is seen when the temporal bone, rather than a 2 cm margin is employed as the anterior border of the CTV. As GBM patients live longer in the era of combined modality therapy, a greater opportunity will exist to express radiation damage. The strategy proposed herein provides tumor control while respecting optic tolerance without resorting to complex, expensive approaches such as IMRT.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Common toxicity criteria: version 2.0. an improved reference for grading the acute effects of cancer treatment: impact on radiotherapy

In 1997, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) led an effort to revise and expand the Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) with the goal of integrating systemic agent, radiation, and surgical criteria into a comprehensive and standardized system. Representatives from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) participated in this process in an effort to improve acute radiation related criteria and to achieve better clarity and consistency among modalities. CTC v. 2.0 replaces the previous NCI CTC and the RTOG Acute Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria and includes more than 260 individual adverse events with more than 100 of these applicable to acute radiation effects. One of the advantages of the revised criteria for radiation oncology is the opportunity to grade acute radiation effects not adequately captured under the previous RTOG system. A pilot study conducted by the RTOG indicated the new criteria are indeed more comprehensive and were preferred by research associates. CTC v. 2.0 represents an improvement in the evaluation and grading of acute toxicity for all modalities.

Psychosocial factors and the development of breast cancer: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis examined the relationship between psychosocial factors and the development of breast cancer. Average effect sizes (Hedges's g) were calculated from 46 studies for 8 major construct categories: anxiety/depression, childhood family environment, conflict-avoidant personality, denial/repression coping, anger expression, extraversion-introversion, stressful life events, and separation/loss. Significant effect sizes were found for denial/repression coping (g = .38), separation/loss experiences (g = .29), and stressful life events (g = .25). Although conflict-avoidant personality style was also significant (g = .19), the effect size was less robust, and a moderate number of future studies with null results would reduce the significance. Results overall support only a modest association between specific psychosocial factors and breast cancer and are contrary to the conventional wisdom that personality and stress influence the development of breast cancer.

Prognostic factors and survival in patients with spinal cord gliomas after radiation therapy

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of various prognostic factors on survival in spinal cord gliomas treated with radiation. Fifty-three patients with spinal cord gliomas irradiated at three major institutions were studied. Fifty-one patients were classified as having ependymoma, astrocytoma, or both. Two patients were classified as having gliomas (otherwise unspecified). Eleven patients had complete resection of their tumor. Biopsy or partial resection was done in the remaining patients. All patients received external beam radiation. Information on these patients was placed in a central database file and analyzed for the effect of several prognostic factors on survival. Overall survival of the entire group was 76.9% and 61.5% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Pathologic status significantly affected survival (p = 0.03). Patients with ependymomas had a 5-year survival of 93.8% and a 10-year survival of 67.5%. Patients with astrocytoma had a 5-year survival of 64.2% and a 10-year survival of 54%. Univariate analysis showed pathology and the presence of cysts (p = 0.038) to significantly affect survival. Age, sex, location of the primary, extent of surgery radiation dose, and number of involved segments did not affect survival. On multivariate analysis, astrocytic pathology, involvement of more than five segments, male sex, and the absence of cysts (in or adjacent to the tumor) were associated with a significantly inferior survival. This study confirms the importance of pathology and number of segments involved in determining outcome or survival. The presence of cysts adjacent to or within the tumor was found to be associated with an improvement in survival.

A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin for oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma

To determine the efficacy of high doses of intravenous gammaglobulin (IVIG) for the treatment of severe, steroid-dependent asthma in patients between 6 and 68 years of age, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial was conducted in private and university hospitals in the United States. Patients were randomized to one of three treatment arms: 2 g IVIG/kg/month (16 patients); 1 g IVIG/kg/month (9 patients); or 2 g iv albumin (placebo)/kg/month (15 patients). The treatment consisted of seven monthly infusions followed by a posttreatment observation period. The primary outcome measurement was mean daily prednisone-equivalent dose requirements, determined during the observation month preceding initiation of treatment and compared to the month preceding the seventh infusion. Secondary clinical endpoints measured were pulmonary function, frequency of emergency room visits or hospitalizations, and number of days absent from school or work. When adjusted for body weight, the mean dose requirements fell by 33, 39, and 33% in the placebo, IVIG (1 g/kg), and IVIG (2 g/kg) treatment arms, respectively. The differences between therapies were not statistically different (P = 0.9728). The mean percentage-of-predicted FEV1 fell in all three treatment groups during the treatment period but there was no significant difference between treatment groups (P = 0.8291). There was also no significant difference in the percentage of subjects requiring emergency room visits or hospitalizations or missing days of work/school, among the three treatment groups. The trial was terminated prematurely after interim analysis determined the adverse experience rate was different between the three groups. Three patients, all randomized to the 2-g/kg IVIG dose group, were hospitalized with symptoms consistent with aseptic meningitis. In summary, in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study, high doses of IVIG did not demonstrate a clinically or statistically significant advantage over placebo (albumin) infusions for the treatment of corticosteroid-dependent asthma. Subgroup analysis failed to identify markers predicting responsiveness. High-dose IVIG can also be associated with a significant incidence of serious adverse events.

Efficient CT simulation of the four-field technique for conformal radiotherapy of prostate carcinoma

PURPOSE

Conformal radiotherapy of prostate carcinoma relies on contouring of individual CT slices for target and normal tissue localization. This process can be very time consuming. In the present report, we describe a method to more efficiently localize pelvic anatomy directly from digital reconstructed radiographs (DRRs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ten patients with prostate carcinoma underwent CT simulation (the spiral mode at 3 mm separation) for conformal four-field "box" radiotherapy. The bulbous urethra and bladder were opacified with iodinated contrast media. On lateral and anteroposterior DRRs, the volume of interest (VOI) was restricted to 1.0-1.5 cm tissue thickness to optimize digital radiograph reconstruction of the prostate and seminal vesicles. By removing unessential voxel elements, this method provided direct visualization of those structures. For comparison, the targets of each patient were also obtained by contouring CT axial slices.

RESULTS

The method was successfully performed if the target structures were readily visualized and geometrically corresponded to those generated by contouring axial images. The targets in 9 of 10 patients were reliable representations of the CT-contoured volumes. One patient had 18 mm variation due to the lack of bladder opacification. Using VOIs to generate thin tissue DRRs, the time required for target and normal tissue localization was on the average less than 5 min.

CONCLUSION

In CT simulation of the four-field irradiation technique for prostate carcinoma, thin-tissue DRRs allowed for efficient and accurate target localization without requiring individual axial image contouring. This method may facilitate positioning of the beam isocenter and provide reliable conformal radiotherapy.

A dosimetry system for 192IR interstitial breast implants performed at the time of lumpectomy

PURPOSE

192Ir interstitial breast implants performed at the time of lumpectomy present a unique problem because they cannot be preplanned, and yet they are expected to produce a treatment dose rate (TDR) from 0.3 to 0.5 Gy/h using sources already procured. The purpose of this work is to describe a system of dosimetry that works within these constraints and has been used to perform more than 600 such implants.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The underlying principle is to fix the ribbon spacing, the interplaner separation, and the linear activity (1 mCi/cm) so that the TDR will depend only on the area (L x W) implanted. The ribbons are spaced 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm apart in single plane and double implants, respectively. Idealized implants were used to study the TDR as a function of the implant dimensions, and to study the effects of varying the ribbon spacing and interplanar separation. Volume-dose histograms were generated to study the homogeneity of dose.

RESULTS

The TDRs of single plane implants range from 0.3 Gy/h for small 4 x 4 cm2 implants to 0.4 Gy/h for large 10 x 10 cm2 implants. The TDRs for double plane implants are similar for the same range of dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

Implants with a TDR between 0.3 and 0.5 Gy/h can be performed for a wide range of geometries without preplanning using fixed ribbons spacings of 1.5 and 2.0 cm for single and double plane implants, respectively, and a linear activity of 1 mCi/cm.

Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy in the management of prostate cancer: a surgical and radiation therapy review

Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) prior to radical prostatectomy is an old concept that has recently been revisited. First described in the 1940s as a method to downstage inoperable prostate cancer prior to perineal prostatectomy. NHT fell out of favor for several reasons: the side effects of estrogen therapy, the finality of orchiectomy, improved staging methods, and newer treatment strategies for prostate cancer, including external beam and interstitial radiation therapy. Contemporary interest in NHT has resurfaced primarily due to the introduction of well-tolerated reversible androgen blockade. High cause-specific survival rates following radical prostatectomy for organ confined disease are possible, yet the disturbingly high incidence of positive margins in current radical prostatectomy series led to interest in offering NHT to patients prior to radical prostatectomy to impact on the positive margin rate. Initial nonrandomized studies showed that NHT provided a substantial decrease in prostate size and PSA level in addition to reducing positive margin rate by an uncertain mechanism. Subsequently, controlled randomized studies have been performed, the majority of which have confirmed decreased margin positivity. NHT has been incorporated successfully into external beam radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer as well. Significantly improved disease control is possible when hormones are combined with radiation therapy. The favorable outcome of this radiation therapy approach has led to the approval of flutamide (Eulexin) for this indication when combined with a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue or orchiectomy. Whether these initial results will ultimately affect recurrence and survival data is unknown. This article provides a comprehensive review of the world literature on NHT: from an historical prospective to the current state of the art for both radical prostatectomy and external beam radiation therapy.

Biphasic patterns of memory deficits following moderate-dose partial-brain irradiation: neuropsychologic outcome and proposed mechanisms

PURPOSE

To identify the longitudinal neurobehavioral characteristics of the early-delayed and late-delayed effects of partial-brain radiotherapy for patients with supratentorial brain tumors with favorable histology. This study improves on previous attempts to identify radiation effects, because of the inclusion of baseline measures and the use of subjects as their own controls.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Ten neuropsychologic domains were measured in 12 patients at baseline (post-surgery and immediately before initiation of radiotherapy), and followed trimonthly for 1 year. Four to six patients were examined at 2 and 3 years postbaseline.

RESULTS

Patients were impaired at baseline compared with controls only in visual memory and sentence recall, but demonstrated significant improvement in visual memory by 2 years postbaseline. Speed of processing information also showed a slope of improvement over 2 years. Retrieval from verbal long-term memory was impaired at 1.5 months postcompletion of radiotherapy, but recovered to baseline levels by 1 year. At 2 years postbaseline, long-term memory retrieval demonstrated a decline, but remained unchanged at 3 years.

CONCLUSION

Long-term memory appears to be sensitive to the effects of radiotherapy. We confirmed our previous findings of a decrement with rebound during the early-delayed period, and propose that these findings are consistent with demyelination/remyelination. Decrement was observed again at 2 years postbaseline, which suggests that memory retrieval may be the earliest marker of late-delayed effects. These neurocognitive patterns are consistent with leukoencephalopathy. Confirmation of these observations will be possible if neuropsychologic testing with the same sensitivity can be incorporated into national collaborative trials.

Effectiveness of a specialized asthma clinic in reducing asthma morbidity in an inner-city minority population

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and a leading cause of morbidity in adults. Despite significant advances in medical therapy, asthma morbidity and mortality rates have risen dramatically over the past two decades, especially in minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Numerous intervention programs have been designed in an attempt to reduce asthma morbidity but few have targeted poor or minority populations. The purpose of this study was to assess whether an outpatient intervention program specifically targeted at a high-minority population in East Harlem, in New York City, was successful in reducing asthma morbidity. A retrospective chart review of 84 patient records was conducted. The patients were divided into two groups, an intervention group (n = 45), who were followed by an asthma specialist (allergist/immunologist), and a nonintervention group, followed by a general internist or pediatrician. Outcome variables including clinic walk-in visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations were determined and compared in the pre- and postintervention period in both groups. Patients in the intervention group had reduced total walk-in visits (73 vs. 27, p < 0.001), emergency room visits (30 vs. 5, p < 0.001), and hospitalizations (16 vs. 2, p < 0.001). In contrast, patients in the nonintervention group had no change in total walk-in visits (88 vs. 72), increased emergency visits (7 vs. 22, p < 0.05), and no change in hospitalizations (5 vs. 2), respectively. The outpatient intervention program has been successful in reducing asthma morbidity in the high-risk minority community of East Harlem. Future larger studies are warranted to extend this pilot program to other high-risk minority populations.