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Hair-sparing whole brain radiotherapy with volumetric arc therapy in patients treated for brain metastases: dosimetric and clinical results of a phase II trial.

ABSTRACT: To report the dosimetric results and impact of volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) on temporary alopecia and hair-loss related quality of life (QOL) in whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT).The potential of VMAT-WBRT to reduce the dose to the hair follicles was assessed. A human cadaver was treated with both VMAT-WBRT and conventional opposed field (OF) WBRT, while the subcutaneously absorbed dose was measured by radiochromic films and calculated by the planning system. The impact of these dose reductions on temporary alopecia was examined in a prospective phase II trial, with the mean score of hair loss at 1 month after VMAT-WBRT (EORTC-QOL BN20) as a primary endpoint and delivering a dose of 20 Gy in 5 fractions. An interim analysis was planned after including 10 patients to rule out futility, defined as a mean score of hair loss exceeding 56.7. A secondary endpoint was the global alopecia areata severity score measured with the "Severity of Alopecia Tool" (SALT) with a scale of 0 (no hair loss) to 100 (complete alopecia).For VMAT-WBRT, the cadaver measurements demonstrated a dose reduction to the hair follicle volume of 20.5% on average and of 41.8% on the frontal-vertex-occipital medial axis as compared to OF-WBRT. In the phase II trial, a total of 10 patients were included before the trial was halted due to futility. The EORTC BN20 hair loss score following WBRT was 95 (SD 12.6). The average median dose to the hair follicle volume was 12.6 Gy (SD 0.9), corresponding to a 37% dose reduction compared to the prescribed dose. This resulted in a mean SALT-score of 75.Compared to OF-WBRT, VMAT-WBRT substantially reduces hair follicle dose. These dose reductions could not be related to an improved QOL or SALT score.

SUBMITTER: De Puysseleyr A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4118657 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hair-sparing whole brain radiotherapy with volumetric arc therapy in patients treated for brain metastases: dosimetric and clinical results of a phase II trial.

De Puysseleyr Annemieke A Van De Velde Joris J Speleers Bruno B Vercauteren Tom T Goedgebeur Anneleen A Van Hoof Tom T Boterberg Tom T De Neve Wilfried W De Wagter Carlos C Ost Piet P

Radiation oncology (London, England) 20140729

<h4>Purpose</h4>To report the dosimetric results and impact of volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) on temporary alopecia and hair-loss related quality of life (QOL) in whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT).<h4>Methods</h4>The potential of VMAT-WBRT to reduce the dose to the hair follicles was assessed. A human cadaver was treated with both VMAT-WBRT and conventional opposed field (OF) WBRT, while the subcutaneously absorbed dose was measured by radiochromic films and calculated by the planning system. The i ...[more]

PMID: 25074394

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Project description:Purpose: To determine dose constraints that correlate with alopecia in patients treated with photon-based Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) for primary brain tumors. Methods: During the treatment planning process, the scalp was drawn as a region of interest. Dose received by 0.1 cc (D0.1cc), mean dose (Dmean), absolute volumes receiving different doses (V16Gy, V20Gy, V25Gy, V30Gy, V35Gy, V40Gy, and V43Gy) were registered for the scalp. Alopecia was assessed according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.0. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify parameters associated with hair-loss. Results: One-hundred and one patients were included in this observational study. At the end of radiotherapy (RT), 5 patients did not develop alopecia (Dmean scalp 3.1 Gy). The scalp of the patients with G1 (n = 11) and G2 (n = 85) alopecia received Dmean of 10.6 Gy and 11.8 Gy, respectively. At ROC analysis, V16Gy20Gy ? 5.2 cc were the strongest predictors of acute alopecia risk. Chronic hair-loss assessment was available for 74 patients: median time to recovery from G2 alopecia was 5, 9 months. The actuarial rate of hair regrowth was 98.1% at 18 months after the end of RT. At ROC analysis, V40Gy43Gy ?2.2 cc were the strongest predictors of chronic G2-alopecia risk. V20Gy, V40Gy, and D0,1cc were shown to be independent variables according to correlation coefficient r. Conclusions: V20Gy and V40Gy were the strongest predictors for acute and chronic G2 hair-loss, respectively. The low-dose bath typical of VMAT corresponds to large areas of acute but transient alopecia. However, the steep dose gradient of VMAT allows to reduce the areas of the scalp that receive higher doses, minimizing the risk of permanent alopecia. The application of our dosimetric findings for the scalp may help in reducing the alopecia risk and also in estimating the probability of hair-loss during patient counseling before starting radiotherapy.

Project description:The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the accuracy, plan quality, and efficiency of using intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) for whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) patients with sparing not only the hippocampus (following RTOG 0933 compliance criteria) but also other organs at risk (OARs). A total of 10 patients previously treated with nonconformal opposed laterals whole-brain radiotherapy (NC-WBRT) were retrospectively replanned for hippocampal sparing using IMAT treatment planning. The hippocampus was volumetrically contoured on fused diagnostic T1-weighted MRI with planning CT images and hippocampus avoidance zone (HAZ) was generated using a 5 mm uniform margin around the hippocampus. Both hippocampi were defined as one paired organ. Whole brain tissue minus HAZ was defined as the whole-brain planning target volume (WB-PTV). Highly conformal IMAT plans were generated in the Eclipse treatment planning system for Novalis TX linear accelerator consisting of high-definition multileaf collimators (HD-MLCs: 2.5 mm leaf width at isocenter) and 6 MV beam for a prescription dose of 30 Gy in 10 fractions following RTOG 0933 dosimetric criteria. Two full coplanar arcs with orbits avoidance sectors were used. In addition to RTOG criteria, doses to other organs at risk (OARs), such as parotid glands, cochlea, external/middle ear canals, skin, scalp, optic pathways, brainstem, and eyes/lens, were also evaluated. Subsequently, dose delivery efficiency and accuracy of each IMAT plan was assessed by delivering quality assurance (QA) plans with a MapCHECK device, recording actual beam-on time and measuring planed vs. measured dose agreement using a gamma index. On IMAT plans, following RTOG 0933 dosimetric criteria, the maximum dose to WB-PTV, mean WB-PTV D2%, and mean WB-PTV D98% were 34.9 ± 0.3 Gy, 33.2 ± 0.4 Gy, and 26.0± 0.4Gy, respectively. Accordingly, WB-PTV received the prescription dose of 30Gy and mean V30 was 90.5% ± 0.5%. The D100%, and mean and maximum doses to hippocampus were 8.4 ± 0.3 Gy, 11.2 ± 0.3 Gy, and 15.6 ± 0.4 Gy, on average, respectively. The mean values of homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI) were 0.23 ± 0.02 and 0.96 ± 0.02, respectively. The maximum point dose to WB-PTV was 35.3 Gy, well below the optic pathway tolerance of 37.5 Gy. In addition, compared to NC-WBRT, dose reduction of mean and maximum of parotid glands from IMAT were 65% and 50%, respectively. Ear canals mean and maximum doses were reduced by 26% and 12%, and mean and maximum scalp doses were reduced by 9 Gy (32%) and 2 Gy (6%), on average, respectively. The mean dose to skin was 9.7 Gy with IMAT plans compared to 16 Gy with conventional NC-WBRT, demonstrating that absolute reduction of skin dose by a factor of 2. The mean values of the total number of monitor units (MUs) and actual beam on time were 719 ± 44 and 2.34 ± 0.14 min, respectively. The accuracy of IMAT QA plan delivery was (98.1 ± 0.8) %, on average, with a 3%/3 mm gamma index passing rate criteria. All of these plans were considered clinically acceptable per RTOG 0933 criteria. IMAT planning provided highly conformal and homogenous plan with a fast and effective treatment option for WBRT patients, sparing not only hippocampi but also other OARs, which could potentially result in an additional improvement of the quality life (QoL). In the future, we plan to evaluate the clinical potential of IMAT planning and treatment option with hippocampal and other OARs avoidance in our patient's cohort and asses the QoL of the WBRT patients, as well as simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) for the brain metastases diseases.

Dataset Information

Hair-sparing whole brain radiotherapy with volumetric arc therapy in patients treated for brain metastases: dosimetric and clinical results of a phase II trial.

Publications

Hair-sparing whole brain radiotherapy with volumetric arc therapy in patients treated for brain metastases: dosimetric and clinical results of a phase II trial.

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