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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common neoplasia and the third leading cause of cancer-associated deaths worldwide. Most cases arise in patients with cirrhosis, and early detection through periodic screening can make it potentially curable. The presence of extrahepatic metastases (EHM) affects treatment decisions and curability. The lungs are the most common site for EHM, followed by lymph nodes, bones, and the adrenal glands. Interestingly, approximately only 15 cases of HCC metastasizing to the pituitary gland have been reported so far.The most common symptoms of pituitary metastasis (PM) arising from HCC are nerve palsies affecting the third, fourth, and sixth cranial nerves. Other symptoms, such as diabetes insipidus or pituitary insufficiencies, are present in a minority of cases. Detecting PM is difficult given its rarity. Gold-standard treatments for these patients have not yet been established, but the prognosis is dismal, with a median overall survival of only 4.5 months. In this paper, we present an interesting case of PM as the first symptom of an HCC in a 75-year-old female. We also present an overview of all cases reported to date with emphasis on symptom presentation and survival after diagnosis.Given the improvement of systemic therapy, more cases are diagnosed in both oligometastatic and palliative conditions. Therefore, better approaches and treatment modalities for extrahepatic metastases due to HCC should be defined., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is an effective therapeutic approach in patients with liver metastases. However, long-term changes in hepatic normal tissue have to be taken into account in multimodal treatment regimes. Magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) based morphologic liver alterations (MMA) after liver SBRT have been analyzed longitudinally., Material and Methods: 57 patients treated with gantry-based or robotic-based SBRT of 69 treatment volumes of liver metastases, who had long-term follow-up (FU) ≥6 months were included in this retrospective analysis. Post-SBRT MMAs were contoured on each contrast-enhanced-T1-weighted (T1w) MRI-sequence. Morphologic/volumetric data of the liver and MMAs were evaluated longitudinally, including the dependency on treatment-related factors of the planning target volume (PTV) and liver., Results: The median FU time was 1 year [6-48 months]. 66 of 69 treatment volumes developed MMAs (mean 143.8 ± 135.1 ccm at first appearance). 31.8% of MMAs resolved completely during FU. Of the persisting MMAs 82.2%/13.3% decreased/increased in size until last available FU. Morphological characterization of the MMAs at first appearance included 75% hypointense and 25% hyperintense T1w-MRI-based appearances. Hypointense as compared to hyperintense appearance was significantly associated with a higher mean liver dose EQD2 α/β=3 Gy ( p  = 0.0212) and non-significantly greater MMA size. Variance analysis demonstrated a significant reduction of MMA and total liver volume after SBRT ( p  < 0.0001). The volume reduction decelerated longitudinally for both MMA ( p  < 0.0001) and liver size ( p  = 0.0033). Radiation doses (PTV-BED α/β=3 Gy and 10 Gy ) were not significantly associated with MMA volume reduction. SBRT of liver metastases with mean liver dose EQD2 α/β=3 Gy > 18 Gy were characterized by greater MMA volumes ( p  = 0.0826) and steeper MMA reduction gradients during FU than those with EQD2 α/β=3 Gy ≤ 18 Gy ( p  < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Radiogenic MMAs either completely resolve or usually decrease in volume with pronounced reduction during short-term FU. This course was independent of the MMA's morphological appearance. Further, increased mean liver dose was associated with greater MMA size and a greater gradient of MMA size reduction during FU.

Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is an established local treatment method for patients with hepatic oligometastasis or oligoprogression. Liver metastases often occur in close proximity to radiosensitive organs at risk (OARs). This limits the possibility to apply sufficiently high doses needed for optimal local control. Online MR-guided radiotherapy (oMRgRT) is expected to hold potential to improve hepatic SBRT by offering superior soft-tissue contrast for enhanced target identification as well as the benefit of gating and daily real-time adaptive treatment. The MAESTRO trial therefore aims to assess the potential advantages of adaptive, gated MR-guided SBRT compared to conventional SBRT at a standard linac using an ITV (internal target volume) approach., Methods: This trial is conducted as a prospective, randomized, three-armed phase II study in 82 patients with hepatic metastases (solid malignant tumor, 1-3 hepatic metastases confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), maximum diameter of each metastasis ≤ 5 cm (in case of 3 metastases: sum of diameters ≤ 12 cm), age ≥ 18 years, Karnofsky Performance Score ≥ 60%). If a biologically effective dose (BED) ≥ 100 Gy (α/β = 10 Gy) is feasible based on ITV-based planning, patients will be randomized to either MRgRT or ITV-based SBRT. If a lesion cannot be treated with a BED ≥ 100 Gy, the patient will be treated with MRgRT at the highest possible dose. Primary endpoint is the non-inferiority of MRgRT at the MRIdian Linac® system compared to ITV-based SBRT regarding hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal toxicity CTCAE III or higher. Secondary outcomes investigated are local, locoregional (intrahepatic) and distant tumor control, progression-free survival, overall survival, possible increase of BED using MRgRT if the BED is limited with ITV-based SBRT, treatment-related toxicity, quality of life, dosimetric parameters of radiotherapy plans as well as morphological and functional changes in MRI. Potential prognostic biomarkers will also be evaluated., Discussion: MRgRT is known to be both highly cost- and labor-intensive. The MAESTRO trial aims to provide randomized, higher-level evidence for the dosimetric and possible consecutive clinical benefit of MR-guided, on-table adaptive and gated SBRT for dose escalation in critically located hepatic metastases adjacent to radiosensitive OARs., Trial Registration: The study has been prospectively registered on August 30th, 2021: Clinicaltrials.gov, "Magnetic Resonance-guided Adaptive Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Hepatic Metastases (MAESTRO)", NCT05027711., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Current research, especially in oncology, increasingly focuses on the integration of quantitative, multiparametric and functional imaging data. In this fast-growing field of research, radiomics may allow for a more sophisticated analysis of imaging data, far beyond the qualitative evaluation of visible tissue changes. Through use of quantitative imaging data, more tailored and tumour-specific diagnostic work-up and individualized treatment concepts may be applied for oncologic patients in the future. This is of special importance in cross-sectional disciplines such as radiology and radiation oncology, with already high and still further increasing use of imaging data in daily clinical practice. Liver targets are generally treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), allowing for local dose escalation while preserving surrounding normal tissue. With the introduction of online target surveillance with implanted markers, 3D-ultrasound on conventional linacs and hybrid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linear accelerators, individualized adaptive radiotherapy is heading towards realization. The use of big data such as radiomics and the integration of artificial intelligence techniques have the potential to further improve image-based treatment planning and structured follow-up, with outcome/toxicity prediction and immediate detection of (oligo)progression. The scope of current research in this innovative field is to identify and critically discuss possible application forms of radiomics, which is why this review tries to summarize current knowledge about interdisciplinary integration of radiomics in oncologic patients, with a focus on investigations of radiotherapy in patients with liver cancer or oligometastases including multiparametric, quantitative data into (radio)-oncologic workflow from disease diagnosis, treatment planning, delivery and patient follow-up.

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the tumor movement and accuracy of patient immobilization in stereotactic body radiotherapy of liver tumors with low pressure foil or abdominal compression., Methods: Fifty-four liver tumors treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy were included in this study. Forty patients were immobilized by a vacuum couch with low pressure foil, 14 patients by abdominal compression. We evaluated the ratio of gross tumor volume/internal target volume, the tumor movement in 4D-computed tomography scans and daily online adjustments after cone beam computed tomography scans., Results: The ratio of gross tumor volume/internal target volume was smaller with low pressure foil. The tumor movement in 4D-computed tomography scans was smaller with abdominal compression, the cranial movement even significantly different (p = 0.02). The mean online adjustments and their mean absolute values in the vertical, lateral and longitudinal axis were smaller with abdominal compression. The online adjustments were significantly different (p < 0.013), their absolute values in case of the longitudinal axis (p = 0.043). There was no significant difference of the adjustments' 3D vectors., Conclusions: In comparison to low pressure foil, abdominal compression leads to a reduction of the tumor movement. Online adjustments decreased significantly, thus leading to higher accuracy in patient positioning.

Purpose The time course of changes of the liver function after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) was analyzed in patients treated for non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients and methods Twenty-six patients with non-resectable HCC treated with SBRT were included in this study. Clinical, biochemical and treatment-related parameters were retrospectively collected. S-albumin, s-bilirubin, s-alkaline phosphatase (AP) and s-alanine transaminase (ALAT) at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months after radiotherapy were analyzed. Results Seventeen and nine patients were Child-Pugh class A and B, respectively. The liver was exposed to relatively high radiation doses with mean doses of 1.9-26 Gy. None of the patients developed classic radiotherapy-induced liver disease (RILD), but two patients developed non-classic RILD. Two patients developed grade 3 ascites and no grade 4-5 toxicities were observed. Six patients declined in Child-Pugh class. The s-albumin decreased significantly from a pretreatment median of 37.4-34.36 g/l at three months after SBRT and stabilized thereafter. S-bilirubin, s-AP and s-ALAT did not change significantly over the study period. Conclusion Despite the fact that patients received high radiation dose to the liver, there was only moderate morbidity related to the treatment. The s-albumin decreases over three months after SBRT reflecting minor to moderate hepatic toxicity. S-albumin should be observed in the follow-up of HCC patients treated with SBRT.