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Purpose: Surgery is the backbone of breast cancer (BC) treatment. For patients who cannot undergo surgery, improving local control (LC) of the primary tumor is paramount. To that end, this study explored the role of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)., Methods and Materials: Between 2015 and 2022, 21 nonsurgical candidates (10 metastatic, 11 stage IA-IIIC) received 23 SBRT courses to primary BC. Seven were analyzed retrospectively; 15 are currently enrolled in a prospective study. SBRT (40 Gy/5 fractions) was delivered every other day. Follow-up imaging was reviewed. Acute (≤3 months) and late toxicities were evaluated using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5. LC and overall survival (OS) were estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves., Results: Median age was 78.4 years (45.9-97.3). Median follow-up was 14.7 months (3.3-70.3). Median pre-SBRT index lesion size was 3.1 cm (0.5-14.5) and planning treatment volume was 32.4 cc (11.5-522.4). Initial posttreatment imaging performed at a median 4.0 months (0.6-11.9) post-SBRT demonstrated median decrease in index lesion size of 20.8% (0%-100%); SUV reduction of 65.2% (20.8%-100%). Second follow-up scans at a median 7.8 months post-SBRT showed 62% (0%-100%) and 88% (33.3%-100%) median reduction in tumor size and SUV, respectively, compared with pre-SBRT values. The estimated LC rate was 100% at 6 months and 93.3% at 12, 24, and 36 months. Local progression occurred in 1 case 9.5 months after SBRT, after an initial response. Regional progression occurred in 4 cases (17.4%) at a median 18.6 months (5.2-22.7) post-SBRT. Six patients (35.3%) developed distant progression at a median 2.7 months (0.9-16.2). The estimated OS was 85.7% at 6 months, 69.6% at 12 months, and 63.8% at 24 and 36 months. The rates of acute toxicity were G1: 47.8%, G2: 4.3%, G3: 8.7%, and G4: 0%., Conclusions: Definitive SBRT for primary BC resulted in good LC in nonsurgical patients and was well-tolerated. Considering the pattern of progression, additional approaches to improve regional/distant control should be investigated., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of postoperative radiation therapy (RT) on cause-specific survival in patients with meningeal hemangiopericytomas., Methods and Materials: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 1990-2008 was queried for cases of surgically resected central nervous system hemangiopericytoma. Patient demographics, tumor location, and extent of resection were included in the analysis as covariates. The Kaplan-Meier product-limit method was used to analyze cause-specific survival. A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to determine which factors were associated with cause-specific survival., Results: The mean follow-up time is 7.9 years (95 months). There were 76 patients included in the analysis, of these, 38 (50%) underwent gross total resection (GTR), whereas the other half underwent subtotal resection (STR). Postoperative RT was administered to 42% (16/38) of the patients in the GTR group and 50% (19/38) in the STR group. The 1-year, 10-year, and 20-year cause-specific survival rates were 99%, 75%, and 43%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, postoperative RT was associated with significantly better survival (HR = 0.269, 95% CI 0.084-0.862; P=.027), in particular for patients who underwent STR (HR = 0.088, 95% CI: 0.015-0.528; P<.008)., Conclusions: In the absence of large prospective trials, the current clinical decision-making of hemangiopericytoma is mostly based on retrospective data. We recommend that postoperative RT be considered after subtotal resection for patients who could tolerate it. Based on the current literature, the practical approach is to deliver limited field RT to doses of 50-60 Gy while respecting the normal tissue tolerance. Further investigations are clearly needed to determine the optimal therapeutic strategy., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: Cancer of the exocrine pancreas is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation has been investigated in several trials as a strategy for downstaging locally advanced disease to resectability. The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of neoadjuvant radiation therapy (RT) vs. other treatments on long-term survival for patients with resectable pancreatic cancer in a large population-based sample group., Methods and Materials: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry database (1994-2003) was queried for cases of surgically resected pancreatic cancer. Retrospective analysis was performed. The endpoint of the study was overall survival., Results: Using Kaplan-Meier analysis we found that the median overall survival of patients receiving neoadjuvant RT was 23 months vs. 12 months with no RT and 17 months with adjuvant RT. Using Cox regression and controlling for independent covariates (age, sex, stage, grade, and year of diagnosis), we found that neoadjuvant RT results in significantly higher rates of survival than other treatments (hazard ratio [HR], 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.79; p = 0.001). Specifically comparing adjuvant with neoadjuvant RT, we found a significantly lower HR for death in patients receiving neoadjuvant RT rather than adjuvant RT (HR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.45-0.90; p = 0.03)., Conclusions: This analysis of SEER data showed a survival benefit for the use of neoadjuvant RT over surgery alone or surgery with adjuvant RT in treating pancreatic cancer. Therapeutic strategies that use neoadjuvant RT should be further explored for patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.