Migration and myelination

Effects From Nonuniform Dose Distribution in the Spinal Nerves of Pigs: Analysis of Normal Tissue Complication Probability Models

PURPOSE

Our purpose was to evaluate normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models for their ability to describe the increase in tolerance as the length of irradiated spinal nerve is reduced in a pig.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Common phenomenological and semimechanistic NTCP models were fit using the maximum likelihood estimate method to dose-response data from spinal nerve irradiation studies in pigs. Statistical analysis was used to compare how well each model fit the data. Model parameters were then applied to a previously published dose distribution used for spinal cord irradiation in rats under the assumption of a similar dose-response.

RESULTS

The Lyman-Kutcher-Burman model, relative seriality, and critical volume model fit the spinal nerve data equally well, but the mean dose logistic and relative seriality models gave the best fit after penalizing for the number of model parameters. The minimum dose logistic regression model was the only model showing a lack of fit. When extrapolated to a 0.5-cm simulated square-wave-like dose distribution, the serial behaving models showed negligible increase in dose-response curve. The Lyman-Kutcher-Burman model and relative seriality models showed significant shifting of NTCP curves due to parallel behaving parameters. The critical volume model gave the closest match to the rat data.

CONCLUSIONS

Several phenomenological and semimechanistic models were observed to adequately describe the increase in the radiation tolerance of the spinal nerves when changing the irradiated length from 1.5 to 0.5 cm. Contrary to common perception, model parameters suggest parallel behaving tissue architecture. Under the assumption that the spinal nerve response to radiation is similar to that of the spinal cord, only the critical volume model was robust when extrapolating to outcome data from a 0.5-cm square-wave-like dose distribution, as was delivered in rodent spinal cord irradiation research.

Existence of a Dose-Length Effect in Spinal Nerves Receiving Single-Session Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy

PURPOSE

The spinal nerves have been observed to have a similar single-session dose tolerance to that of the spinal cord in pigs. Small-animal studies have shown that spinal cord dose tolerance depends on the length irradiated. This work aims to determine whether a dose-length effect exists for spinal nerves.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Twenty-seven Yucatan minipigs underwent computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for treatment planning, followed by single-session stereotactic ablative radiation therapy. A 0.5 cm length of the left-sided C6, C7, and C8 spinal nerves was targeted. The pigs were distributed into 6 groups with prescription doses of 16 Gy (n = 5), 18 Gy (n = 5), 20 Gy (n = 5), 22 Gy (n = 5), 24 Gy (n = 5), or 36 Gy (n = 2) and corresponding maximum doses of 16.7, 19.1, 21.3, 23.1, 25.5, and 38.6 Gy, respectively. Neurologic status was assessed with a serial electrodiagnostic examination and daily observation of gait for approximately 52 weeks. A histopathologic examination of paraffin-embedded sections with Luxol fast blue/periodic acid-Schiff's staining was also performed.

RESULTS

Marked gait change was observed in 8 of 27 irradiated pigs. The latency for responding pigs was 11 to 16 weeks after irradiation. The affected animals presented with a limp in the left front limb, and 62.5% of these pigs had electrodiagnostic evidence of denervation in the C6 and C7 innervated muscles. A probit analysis showed the dose associated with a 50% incidence of gait change is 23.9 Gy (95% confidence interval, 22.5-25.8 Gy), which is 20% higher than that reported in a companion study where a 1.5 cm length was irradiated. All symptomatic pigs had demyelination and fibrosis in the irradiated nerves, but the contralateral nerves and spinal cord were normal.

CONCLUSIONS

A dose-length effect was observed for single-session irradiation of the spinal nerves in a Yucatan minipig model.

Lhermitte sign after chemo-IMRT of head-and-neck cancer: incidence, doses, and potential mechanisms

PURPOSE

We have observed a higher rate of Lhermitte sign (LS) after chemo-intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of head-and-neck cancer than the published rates after conventional radiotherapy. We hypothesized that the inhomogeneous spinal cord dose distributions produced by IMRT caused a "bath-and-shower" effect, characterized by low doses in the vicinity of high doses, reducing spinal cord tolerance.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Seventy-three patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx participated in a prospective study of IMRT concurrent with weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel. Of these, 15 (21%) reported LS during at least 2 consecutive follow-up visits. Mean dose, maximum dose, and partial volume and absolute volume (in milliliters) of spinal cord receiving specified doses (≥10 Gy, ≥20 Gy, ≥30 Gy, and ≥40 Gy), as well as the pattern of dose distributions at the "anatomic" spinal cord (from the base of the skull to the aortic arch) and "plan-related" spinal cord (from the top through the bottom of the planning target volumes), were compared between LS patients and 34 non-LS patients.

RESULTS

LS patients had significantly higher spinal cord mean doses, V(30), V(40), and absolute volumes receiving 30 Gy or more and 40 Gy or more compared with the non-LS patients (p < 0.05). The strongest predictors of LS were higher V(40) and higher cord volumes receiving 40 Gy or more (p ≤ 0.007). There was no evidence of larger spinal cord volumes receiving low doses in the vicinity of higher doses (bath-and-shower effect) in LS compared with non-LS patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater mean dose, V(30), V(40), and cord volumes receiving 30 Gy or more and 40 Gy or more characterized LS compared with non-LS patients. Bath-and-shower effects could not be validated in this study as a potential contributor to LS. The higher-than-expected rates of LS may be because of the specific concurrent chemotherapy agents or more accurate identification of LS in the setting of a prospective study.

Spinal cord tolerance to single-fraction partial-volume irradiation: a swine model

PURPOSE

To determine the spinal cord tolerance to single-fraction, partial-volume irradiation in swine.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A 5-cm-long cervical segment was irradiated in 38-47-week-old Yucatan minipigs using a dedicated, image-guided radiosurgery linear accelerator. The radiation was delivered to a cylindrical volume approximately 5 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter that was positioned lateral to the cervical spinal cord, resulting in a dose distribution with the 90%, 50%, and 10% isodose lines traversing the ipsilateral, central, and contralateral spinal cord, respectively. The dose was prescribed to the 90% isodose line. A total of 26 pigs were stratified into eight dose groups of 12-47 Gy. The mean maximum spinal cord dose was 16.9 ± 0.1, 18.9 ± 0.1, 21.0 ± 0.1, 23.0 ± 0.2, and 25.3 ± 0.3 Gy in the 16-, 18-, 20-, 22-, and 24-Gy dose groups, respectively. The mean percentage of spinal cord volumes receiving ≥ 10 Gy for the same groups were 43% ± 3%, 48% ± 4%, 51% ± 2%, 57% ± 2%, and 59% ± 4%. The study endpoint was motor neurologic deficit determined by a change in gait during a 1-year follow-up period.

RESULTS

A steep dose-response curve was observed with a median effective dose for the maximum dose point of 20.0 Gy (95% confidence interval, 18.3-21.7). Excellent agreement was observed between the occurrence of neurologic change and the presence of histologic change. All the minipigs with motor deficits showed some degree of demyelination and focal white matter necrosis on the irradiated side, with relative sparing of the gray matter. The histologic findings were unremarkable in the minipigs with normal neurologic status.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results have indicated that for a dose distribution with a steep lateral gradient, the pigs had a lower median effective dose for paralysis than has been observed in rats and more closely resembles that for rats, mice, and guinea pigs receiving uniform spinal cord irradiation.

Influence of adjacent low-dose fields on tolerance to high doses of protons in rat cervical spinal cord

PURPOSE

The dose-response relationship for a relatively short length (4 mm) of rat spinal cord has been shown to be significantly modified by adjacent low-dose fields. In an additional series of experiments, we have now established the dose-volume dependence of this effect.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Wistar rats were irradiated on the cervical spinal cord with single doses of unmodulated protons (150 MeV) to obtain sharp lateral penumbras, by use of the shoot-through technique, which employs the plateau of the depth-dose profile rather than the Bragg peak. Three types of inhomogeneous dose distributions were administered: Twenty millimeters of cervical spinal cord were irradiated with variable subthreshold (= bath) doses (4 and 18 Gy). At the center of the 20-mm segment, a short segment of 2 mm or 8 mm (= shower) was irradiated with variable single doses. These inhomogeneous dose distributions are referred to as symmetrical bath-and-shower experiments. An asymmetrical dose distribution was arranged by irradiation of 12 mm (= bath) of spinal cord with a dose of 4 Gy. The caudal 2 mm (= shower) of the 12-mm bath was additionally irradiated with variable single doses. This arrangement of inhomogeneous dose distribution is referred to as asymmetrical bath-and-shower experiment. The endpoint for estimation of the dose-response relationships was paralysis of the fore limbs or hind limbs and confirmation by histology.

RESULTS

The 2-mm bath-and-shower experiments with a 4-Gy bath dose showed a large shift of the dose-response curves compared with the 2-mm single field, which give lower ED50 values of 61.2 Gy and 68.6 Gy for the symmetrical and asymmetrical arrangement, respectively, compared with an ED50 of 87.8 Gy after irradiation of a 2-mm field only. If the bath dose is increased to 18 Gy, the ED50 value is decreased further to 30.9 Gy. For an 8-mm field, addition of a 4-Gy bath dose did not modify the ED50 obtained for an 8-mm field only (23.2 and 23.1 Gy).

CONCLUSIONS

The spinal cord tolerance of relatively small volumes (shower) is strongly affected by low-dose irradiation (= bath) of adjacent tissue. The results of all bath-and-shower experiments show the effect of a low bath dose to be highest for a field of 2 mm, less for 4 mm, and absent for 8 mm. Adding a 4-Gy bath to only 1 side of a 2-mm field still showed a large effect. Because glial progenitor cells are known to migrate over at least 2 to 3 mm, this observation indicates that interference with stem cell migration is not the most likely mechanism of a bath effect.