BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ongoing clinical trials aim to improve local control and overall survival rates by intensification of therapy regimen for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. It is well known that whenever treatment is intensified, risk of therapy-related toxicity rises. An irradiation with protons could possibly present an approach to solve this dilemma by lowering the exposure to the organs-at-risk (OAR) without compromising tumor response. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty five consecutive patients were treated from 04/2009 to 5/2010. For all patients, four different treatment plans including protons, RapidArc, IMRT and 3D-conformal-technique were retrospectively calculated and analyzed according to dosimetric aspects. RESULTS: Detailed DVH-analyses revealed that protons clearly reduced the dose to the OAR and entire normal tissue when compared to other techniques. Furthermore, the conformity index was significantly better and target volumes were covered consistent with the ICRU guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Planning results suggest that treatment with protons can improve the therapeutic tolerance for the irradiation of rectal cancer, particularly for patients scheduled for an irradiation with an intensified chemotherapy regimen and identified to be at high risk for acute therapy-related toxicity. However, clinical experiences and long-term observation are needed to assess tumor response and related toxicity rates.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ongoing clinical trials aim to improve local control and overall survival rates by intensification of therapy regimen for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. It is well known that whenever treatment is intensified, risk of therapy-related toxicity rises. An irradiation with protons could possibly present an approach to solve this dilemma by lowering the exposure to the organs-at-risk (OAR) without compromising tumor response. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty five consecutive patients were treated from 04/2009 to 5/2010. For all patients, four different treatment plans including protons, RapidArc, IMRT and 3D-conformal-technique were retrospectively calculated and analyzed according to dosimetric aspects. RESULTS: Detailed DVH-analyses revealed that protons clearly reduced the dose to the OAR and entire normal tissue when compared to other techniques. Furthermore, the conformity index was significantly better and target volumes were covered consistent with the ICRU guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Planning results suggest that treatment with protons can improve the therapeutic tolerance for the irradiation of rectal cancer, particularly for patients scheduled for an irradiation with an intensified chemotherapy regimen and identified to be at high risk for acute therapy-related toxicity. However, clinical experiences and long-term observation are needed to assess tumor response and related toxicity rates.
Authors: Jana M Kobeissi; Charles B Simone; Lara Hilal; Abraham J Wu; Haibo Lin; Christopher H Crane; Carla Hajj Journal: Cancers (Basel) Date: 2022-06-10 Impact factor: 6.575
Authors: Hanne Elisabeth Weber; Leif Hendrik Dröge; Steffen Hennies; Markus Karl Herrmann; Jochen Gaedcke; Hendrik Andreas Wolff Journal: Strahlenther Onkol Date: 2015-06-08 Impact factor: 3.621
Authors: Leif Hendrik Dröge; Hanne Elisabeth Weber; Manuel Guhlich; Martin Leu; Lena-Christin Conradi; Jochen Gaedcke; Steffen Hennies; Markus Karl Herrmann; Margret Rave-Fränk; Hendrik Andreas Wolff Journal: BMC Cancer Date: 2015-10-20 Impact factor: 4.430