Strahlentherapie und Onkologie最新文献

{"title":"[Pembrolizumab in combination with radiochemotherapy in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: results of the KEYNOTE-412 study and the challenges of radioimmunotherapy].","authors":"Florian Stritzke, Thomas Held","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02315-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00066-024-02315-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":"1097-1099"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142475203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pilot study to assess the early cardiac safety of carbon ion radiotherapy for intra- and para-cardiac tumours.","authors":"Amelia Barcellini, Roberto Rordorf, Veronica Dusi, Giulia Fontana, Antonella Pepe, Alessandro Vai, Sandra Schirinzi, Viviana Vitolo, Ester Orlandi, Alessandra Greco","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02270-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00066-024-02270-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Modern photon radiotherapy effectively spares cardiac structures more than previous volumetric approaches. Still, it is related to non-negligible cardiac toxicity due to the low-dose bath of surrounding normal tissues. However, the dosimetric advantages of particle radiotherapy make it a promising treatment for para- and intra-cardiac tumours. In the current short report, we evaluate the cardiac safety profile of carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) for radioresistant intra- and para-cardiac malignancies in a real-world setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively analysed serum biomarkers (TnI, CRP and NT-proBNP), echocardiographic, and both 12-lead and 24-hour Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) data of consecutive patients with radioresistant intra- and para-cardiac tumours irradiated with CIRT between June 2019 and September 2022. In the CIRT planning optimization process, to minimize the delivered doses, we contoured and gave a high priority to the cardiac substructures. Weekly re-evaluative 4D computed tomography scans were carried out throughout the treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 16 patients with intra- and para-cardiac localizations of radioresistant tumours were treated up to a total dose of 70.4 Gy relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and a mean heart dose of 2.41 Gy(RBE). We did not record any significant variation of the analysed serum biomarkers after CIRT nor significant changes of echocardiographic features, biventricular strain, or 12-lead and 24-hour Holter ECG parameters during 6 months of follow-up.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our pilot study suggests that carbon ion radiotherapy is a promising radiation technique capable of sparing off-target side effects at the cardiac level. A larger cohort, long-term follow-up and further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":"1080-1087"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142112164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of patients with parotid recurrence after parotid-sparing IMRT for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: case series and review of the literature.","authors":"Sezin Yuce Sari, Melek Tugce Yilmaz, Gozde Yazici, Sepideh Mohammadipour, Gokhan Ozyigit, Ibrahim Gullu, Mustafa Cengiz","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02309-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00066-024-02309-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is the standard treatment approach for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). IMRT enables effective sparing of the parotid glands and reduces the risk of xerostomia, a common complication of head and neck irradiation. Nevertheless, it is essential to determine whether the parotid-sparing IMRT (ps-IMRT) technique yields increased intra-/periparotid recurrence rates, which constitutes the main purpose of this study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients with a diagnosis of NPC that received definitive chemoradiotherapy/radiotherapy (CRT/RT) between 1991 and 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients with intra-/periparotid recurrence were detected and prognostic factors for recurrence were sought.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 746 patients were evaluated. Two-dimensional (2D)-RT was applied to 541, 3D conformal RT (3D-CRT) to 10, and ps-IMRT to 195 patients. After a median 85-month follow-up, one (0.18%) patient who received 2D-RT and four (2%) patients who received ps-IMRT experienced an intra-/periparotid recurrence. The median time to intra-/periparotid recurrence was 11.9 months. All patients had been diagnosed with a metastatic lymph node > 2 cm at level II of the ipsilateral neck. In addition, all recurrences occurred on the same side as the positive neck at the time of diagnosis. The 3‑year overall survival, locoregional recurrence-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival rates were 80%, 40%, and 60%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Intra-/periparotid recurrence is extremely rare in NPC. However, it is still possible to identify and characterize particular risk factors, which include a metastatic lymph node at level II, particularly > 2 cm, and multinodal disease at the time of diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":"1057-1065"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142508302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to: Precision matters: the value of PET/CT and PET/MRI in the clinical management of cervical cancer.","authors":"Yulin Zou, Sijin Zhu, Yinwu Kong, Chengtao Feng, Ru Wang, Linping Lei, Yaomin Zhao, Long Chen, Li Chang","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02330-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00066-024-02330-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142732872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thyroid avoidance in treatment planning for breast cancer patients irradiated to the supraclavicular nodes.","authors":"Alessandro Clivio, Daniel R Zwahlen, Sonja Koch, Cezarina Negreanu, Enrico Barletta, Helmut Haerle, Elena Hofmann, Christoph Oehler","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02321-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02321-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Hypothyroidism affects up to 21% of women with breast cancer after supraclavicular node irradiation. The PENTEC (pediatric normal tissue effects in the clinic) initiative highlighted the need to minimize the thyroid dose, albeit without giving a specific constraint. This study aimed to define a reasonable target thyroid mean dose (D_mean) between 10 and 15 Gy using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and examine its impact on the hypothyroidism risk.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty-three breast cancer patients with supraclavicular irradiation neglecting the thyroid in terms of dose protection were included from 01/2020 to 04/2021. An IMRT or VMAT technique was used in 23 and 20 patients, respectively. Replanning aimed for a thyroid D_mean of 10 Gy. IMRT plans still exceeding 10 Gy were converted into VMAT plans. Fisher's sign test compared original and revised plans and the hypothyroidism risk was calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Initial radiotherapy plans had a thyroid D_mean of 18.4 ± 7.9 Gy (IMRT: 20.4 ± 8.8 Gy, VMAT: 16.2 ± 6.2 Gy). Replanning significantly reduced D_mean to 10.3 ± 4.5 Gy (-44%) overall (IMRT: -50%, VMAT: -35%), with 56% achieving ≤ 10 Gy (IMRT: 33.3%, VMAT: 61%). Furthermore, an IMRT to VMAT conversion yielded a thyroid D_mean of 9.2 ± 3.5 Gy, with 74.4% of patients ≤ 10 Gy, albeit at the cost of higher doses to the contralateral breast. Clinical and planning target volume (CTV/PTV) coverage remained uncompromised. The calculated hypothyroidism risk significantly decreased from 24.5% to 13.3% (D_mean = 10 Gy) or 16.3% (D_mean = 13.5 Gy).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Implementing a thyroid organ at risk (OAR) constraint D_mean of 13.5 Gy was feasible in 88% of patients without compromising other OARs and CTV/PTV coverage, and resulted in a 33-46% reduction of the hypothyroidism risk.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Retrospectively registered.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142710670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-coding RNAs modulation in breast cancer radioresponse: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.","authors":"Amin Moqadami, Sahar Ghafari, Mohammad Khalaj-Kondori","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02317-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02317-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in women, with significant incidence and fatality rates. Radiation therapy is an important therapeutic option for breast cancer patients. However, tumor cells' resistance to radiation can limit therapy efficacy, resulting in recurrence and death. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of small RNA molecules that do not translate into proteins but can affect the translation of target mRNA. Several investigations on breast cancer have demonstrated abnormal expression of ncRNAs in response to radiation. Non-coding RNAs are essential in controlling numerous processes such as DNA damage response, cancer stem cell pathways, cell cycle regulation, cell death, and inflammation. Dysregulation of ncRNAs after irradiation influences radiosensitivity or radioresistance of breast cancer cells. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Radiation response can lead to innovative treatment ways to reduce breast cancer radioresistance and increase radiotherapy's efficacy. This review summarizes current research on ncRNA dysregulation following irradiation and analyzes ncRNAs' function and mechanism in modifying breast cancer cell radiosensitivity and radioresistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142639689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interstitial HDR brachytherapy for anal cancer-results and quality of life.","authors":"Michaela Jirkovská, Hana Stankušová, Anna Kindlová, Daniel Jirkovský, Radka Lohynská","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02316-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02316-5","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Purpose: &lt;/strong&gt;While anal cancer is a very rare oncological diagnosis representing less than 2% of lower gastrointestinal tract cancers, the incidence has doubled in the past 20 years. Radical radiochemotherapy with sequential or simultaneous boost is now the standard treatment modality. Interstitial HDR brachytherapy is one of the boost application options. Implementation of new radiotherapy techniques has resulted in improved therapeutic outcomes; however, it is still associated with acute and especially late toxicity. Gastrointestinal disorders and sexual dysfunction are the most frequent factors affecting the long-term quality of cured patients' lives.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A total of 96 patients consecutively treated between 2000 and 2022 with external beam radio-/chemotherapy and an interstitial brachytherapy boost for histologically verified nonmetastatic anal squamous cell carcinoma were evaluated. The median follow-up time was 15.4 years (range 13.4-17.3 years). The primary objective of the study was to assess local control (LC) and quality of life (QoL). The Czech versions of internationally validated EORTC questionnaires were used to evaluate life quality-the basic EORTC QOL-C30 v.3 and the specific QOL-ANL 27 questionnaire.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Local control was 85.5% at 5 years, 83.4% at 10 years, 83.4% at 15 years, and 83.4% at 20 years, and there was no dependence on clinical stage. The most common forms of acute toxicity were cutaneous and hematological but were gastrointestinal for late toxicities. In the evaluation of quality of life, 80.5% of patients alive at the time participated. In the EORTC quality of life questionnaire C30 v.3, patients rated the functional scale score as 86.2 points (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6) and the symptom score as 15.5 points (SD = 12.5). The global health score achieved 68.4 points (SD = 23.6). The most common symptoms were fatigue with 25.6 points (SD = 20.2) and diarrhea with 19.0 points (SD = 27.8). In the QOL-ANL 27 questionnaire, symptom scales assessing bowel symptoms were scored 27.5 points (SD = 19) in non-stoma patients and 11.9 points (SD = 17.2) in stoma patients. In the single-item symptom scales, the highest scores were rated for frequency of urination with 26.4 points (SD = 30.8), need to be close to a toilet with 22.4 points (SD = 27.3), and self-cleaning more often with 25.3 points (SD = 31.8). In the functional scales assessing sex life and interest, men and women reported scores of 45.2 (SD = 23) and 45.5 points (SD = 19), respectively.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;Boost with interstitial HDR brachytherapy is an established safe method of anal cancer treatment, with excellent results and limited late toxicity. Functioning scales were rated relatively highly in QoL questionnaires, and the overall global health score was comparable to published data. Gastrointestinal difficulties, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction dominated the symptom scal","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142628515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficacy of palliative hemostatic radiotherapy for tumor bleeding and pain relief in locally advanced pelvic gynecological malignancies.","authors":"Eva Meixner, Line Hoeltgen, Lisa A Dinges, Semi Harrabi, Katharina Seidensaal, Fabian Weykamp, Philipp Hoegen-Sassmanshausen, Maria Vinsensia, Laila König, Maximilian Deng, Jürgen Debus, Juliane Hörner-Rieber","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02319-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02319-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The appearance of symptomatic tumor-related vaginal bleeding and pain in advanced incurable cancer patients with pelvic gynecological malignancies remains a therapeutic challenge in oncological treatment. The aim of our analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of palliative hemostatic radiotherapy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively identified patients who had received palliative hemostatic radiotherapy (RT) at our institution between 2011 and 2023 and evaluated acute toxicity, local control, cessation of bleeding, and pain relief.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 40 patients with a median planning target volume of 804 cm³ were treated with a median total dose of 39 Gy in 13 fractions, resulting in 6‑month and 1‑year local control rates of 66.9 and 60.8%, respectively. No higher-grade (>grade III) acute RT-induced toxicity appeared. Complete cessation of bleeding was achieved in 80.0% of all patients after a median of 16 days and pain relief was documented in 60.9% at first follow-up. 37.5% of the women required a blood transfusion and 25% an additional tamponade with local hemostatic agents. Successful stopping of bleeding was significantly less frequent in patients receiving anticoagulation concurrently with radiation and in the case of infield re-irradiation. Patients with a higher total RT dose had cessation of bleeding significantly more often, with a cut-off value of at least EQD2 (α/β = 10) = 36 Gy. The applied RT technique and planning target volume had no significant influence on the occurrence of bleeding cessation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Palliative hemostatic radiotherapy for locally advanced pelvic gynecological malignancies is safe and effective in achieving high control rates of hemostasis in tumor bleeding and pain relief.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142628512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CBCT-based online adaptive radiotherapy of the prostate bed: first clinical experience and comparison to nonadaptive conventional IGRT.","authors":"J Fischer, L A Fischer, J Bensberg, N Bojko, M Bouabdallaoui, J Frohn, P Hüttenrauch, K Tegeler, D Wagner, A Wenzel, D Schmitt, M Guhlich, M Leu, R El Shafie, G Stamm, A-F Schilling, L H Dröge, S Rieken","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02323-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02323-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Conventional image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) of the prostate bed is challenged by the varying anatomy due to dynamic changes of surrounding organs such as the bladder and rectum. This leads to changed dose coverage of target and surrounding tissue. The novel online adaptive radiotherapy (oART) aims to improve target coverage as well as reduce dose exposure to surrounding healthy tissues by daily reoptimization of treatment plans. Here we set out to quantify the resulting changes of this adaptation for patients and treatment team.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 198 fractions of radiotherapy of the prostate bed (6 patients) were treated using oART with the Ethos accelerator (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA, USA). For each fraction, volumes and several dose-volume parameters of target volumes and organs at risk were recorded for the scheduled plan (initial plan, recalculated based on daily cone beam computed tomography [CBCT]), the adapted plan, and the verification plan, which is the dose distribution of the applied plan recalculated on the closing CBCT after the adaptation process. Clinical acceptability for all plans was determined using given dose-volume parameters of target volumes. Additionally, the time needed for the adaptation process was registered and compared to the time required for the daily treatment of five conventional IGRT patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Volumes of target and organs at risk (OAR) exhibited broad variation from day to day. The differences in dose coverage D_98% of the clinical target volume (CTV) were significant through adaptation (p < 0.0001; median D_98% 97.1-98.0%) and further after verification CBCT (p < 0.001; median D_98% 98.1%). Similarly, differences in D_98% of the planning target volume (PTV) were significant with adaptation (p < 0.0001; median D_98% 91.8-96.5%) and after verification CBCT (p < 0.001; median D_98% 96.4%) with decreasing interquartile ranges (IQR). Dose to OAR varied extensively and did not show a consistent benefit from oART but decreased in IQR. Clinical acceptability increased significantly from 19.2% for scheduled plans to 76.8% for adapted plans and decreased to 70.7% for verification plans. The scheduled plan was never chosen for treatment. The median time needed for oART was 25 min compared to 8 min for IGRT.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Target dose coverage was significantly improved using oART. IQR decreased for target coverage as well as OAR doses indicating higher repeatability of dose delivery using oART. Differences in doses after verification CBCT for targets as well as OAR were significant compared to adapted plans but did not offset the overall dosimetric gain of oART. The median time required is three times higher for oART compared to IGRT.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementation of PET/CT in radiation oncology-a patterns-of-care analysis of the German Society of Nuclear Medicine and the German Society of Radiation Oncology.","authors":"Simone Wegen, Ursula Nestle, Constantinos Zamboglou, Simon K B Spohn, Nils Henrik Nicolay, Lena M Unterrainer, Stefan A Koerber, Christian La Fougère, Emmanouil Fokas, Carsten Kobe, Chukwuka Eze, Anca-Ligia Grosu, Wolfgang P Fendler, Adrien Holzgreve, Rudolf Werner, Nina-Sophie Schmidt-Hegemann","doi":"10.1007/s00066-024-02260-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00066-024-02260-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The use of positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in radiation therapy (RT) has increased. Radiation oncologists (RadOncs) have access to PET/CT with a variety of tracers for different tumor entities and use it for target volume definition. The German Society of Nuclear Medicine (DGN) and the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) aimed to identify current patterns of care in order to improve interdisciplinary collaboration.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We created an online survey on participating RadOncs' use of PET tracers for different tumor entities and how they affect RT indication, dose prescription, and target volume definition. Further topics were reimbursement of PET/CT and organizational information (fixed timeslots and use of PET with an immobilization device [planning/RT-PET]). The survey contained 31 questions in German language (yes/no questions, multiple choice [MC] questions, multiple select [MS] questions, and free-text entry options). The survey was distributed twice via the DEGRO member mailing list.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the survey period (May 22-August 7, 2023) a total of 156 RadOncs (13% of respondents) answered the survey. Among these, 59% reported access to diagnostic PET/CT within their organization/clinic and 24% have fixed timeslots for their patients. 37% of survey participants can perform RT-PET and 29% have the option of providing a dedicated RT technician for planning PET. Besides [¹⁸F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG; mainly used in lung cancer: 95%), diagnostic prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-PET/CT for RT of prostate cancer is routinely used by 44% of participants (by 64% in salvage RT). Use of amino acid PET in brain tumors and somatostatin receptor PET in meningioma is low (19 and 25%, respectively). Scans are reimbursed through private (75%) or compulsory (55%) health insurance or as part of indications approved by the German Joint Federal Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss; 59%). 98% of RadOncs agree that PET impacts target volume definition and 62% think that it impacts RT dose prescription.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This is the first nationwide survey on the role of PET/CT for RT planning among RadOncs in Germany. We find high acceptance of PET results for treatment decisions and target volume definition. Planning PET comes with logistic challenges for different healthcare settings (e.g., private practices vs. university hospitals). The decision to request PET/CT is often based on the possibility of reimbursement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>PET/CT has become an important tool for RadOncs, with several indications. However, access is still limited at several sites, especially for dedicated RT-PET. This study aims to improve interdisciplinary cooperation and adequate implementation of current guidelines for the treatment of various tumor entities.</p>","PeriodicalId":21998,"journal":{"name":"Strahlentherapie und Onkologie","volume":" ","pages":"931-941"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11527913/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141907753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}