{"title":"Once-a-Week Ablative Radiotherapy as Replacement of Prolonged Fractionation in Frail Patients: Feasibility and Toxicity Results.","authors":"Liliana Belgioia, Camilla Satragno, Gladys Blandino, Alessandra Fozza, Flavio Giannelli, Michela Marcenaro, Giulia Vidano, Federica Picichè, Francesco Lanfranchi, Alberto Tagliafico, Gianmario Sambuceti, Matteo Bauckneht, Giorgia Timon","doi":"10.1080/07357907.2024.2425729","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The aim of this work was to explore the use of an original once-weekly radiotherapy fractionation in elderly or frail patients with recurrence or metastasis from different solid malignancies.</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>A retrospective analysis was conducted on 29 patients treated from 2011 to 2019 with a once-weekly radiotherapy schedule. Patients received a median dose of 27.5 Gy, with weekly fractions of 4-5 Gy over 7-10 weeks. The treatment aimed at both palliative and cytoreductive objectives. Primary endpoints were feasibility and compliance, secondary outcome was acute toxicity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All patients completed the planned radiotherapy without interruptions. Acute toxicity was mild, with only one patient developing grade 3 toxicity (bowel perforation). Three months post-treatment, 74% of patients experienced symptom relief and tumor response. One-year local control rates were 26.7%, and treatment was generally well-tolerated.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This once-weekly hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen demonstrated feasibility, good tolerance, and promising tumor response in frail and elderly patients. Although limited by a small sample size, the approach offers a practical alternative for patients unable to undergo conventional daily radiotherapy. Further studies on larger cohorts are required to validate these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":9463,"journal":{"name":"Cancer Investigation","volume":" ","pages":"893-898"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cancer Investigation","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07357907.2024.2425729","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/11/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: The aim of this work was to explore the use of an original once-weekly radiotherapy fractionation in elderly or frail patients with recurrence or metastasis from different solid malignancies.
Material and methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 29 patients treated from 2011 to 2019 with a once-weekly radiotherapy schedule. Patients received a median dose of 27.5 Gy, with weekly fractions of 4-5 Gy over 7-10 weeks. The treatment aimed at both palliative and cytoreductive objectives. Primary endpoints were feasibility and compliance, secondary outcome was acute toxicity.
Results: All patients completed the planned radiotherapy without interruptions. Acute toxicity was mild, with only one patient developing grade 3 toxicity (bowel perforation). Three months post-treatment, 74% of patients experienced symptom relief and tumor response. One-year local control rates were 26.7%, and treatment was generally well-tolerated.
Conclusion: This once-weekly hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen demonstrated feasibility, good tolerance, and promising tumor response in frail and elderly patients. Although limited by a small sample size, the approach offers a practical alternative for patients unable to undergo conventional daily radiotherapy. Further studies on larger cohorts are required to validate these findings.
期刊介绍:
Cancer Investigation is one of the most highly regarded and recognized journals in the field of basic and clinical oncology. It is designed to give physicians a comprehensive resource on the current state of progress in the cancer field as well as a broad background of reliable information necessary for effective decision making. In addition to presenting original papers of fundamental significance, it also publishes reviews, essays, specialized presentations of controversies, considerations of new technologies and their applications to specific laboratory problems, discussions of public issues, miniseries on major topics, new and experimental drugs and therapies, and an innovative letters to the editor section. One of the unique features of the journal is its departmentalized editorial sections reporting on more than 30 subject categories covering the broad spectrum of specialized areas that together comprise the field of oncology. Edited by leading physicians and research scientists, these sections make Cancer Investigation the prime resource for clinicians seeking to make sense of the sometimes-overwhelming amount of information available throughout the field. In addition to its peer-reviewed clinical research, the journal also features translational studies that bridge the gap between the laboratory and the clinic.