Local radiation therapy for localized relapsed or refractory ovarian cancer patients with or without symptoms after chemotherapy

Metastasis of ovarian cancer to nasal skin and skin on the trunk: a rare case report

Cutaneous metastases of ovarian cancer are rare and often have poor prognosis. We report a case of a 62-year-old woman with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, who presented with lung, brain, and multiple skin (nasal and anterior chest wall) metastases approximately six months after the initial diagnosis. In this case, Nijmegen breakage syndrome carrier status caused by RAD50 heterozygous mutation and previous bevacizumab therapy could be the predisposing factor for cutaneous metastases. The patient was treated with local radiotherapy (nasal skin and brain, 30Gy/6f/1.2W) and three courses of chemotherapy with albumin-bound paclitaxel and carboplatin, resulting in drastic remission of the cutaneous metastases. Unfortunately, treatment interruption resulted in rapid tumor progression, followed by death. This case represents an interesting example of cutaneous metastasis of ovarian cancer with rare clinical manifestations, unique genetic mutations, and reasonable response to treatment. Chemoradiotherapy might be an appropriate option for cutaneous metastases of ovarian cancer. Nevertheless, we still hope to find out the best treatment strategy after collecting and reviewing more cases in the future.

Radiation treatment for adult rare cancers: Oldest and newest indication

AIM

Aim of this analysis is to review the role of RT in the management of several rare tumors for adult patients.

METHODS

Collection data regarding RT and rare tumors was made by Pubmed.

RESULTS

For mucosal melanomas, RT is prescribed, being associated with lower local recurrence rate. For trachea tumors, RT was used as adjuvant or salvage treatment for unresectable disease. For pNET, RT can be a suitable option for post-surgical or unresectable/borderline. For bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors the role of adjuvant treatments is uncertain. For hepatobiliary and ovarian malignancy, stereotactic body RT (SBRT) is a promising approach. For soft tissue sarcoma, perioperative treatments are indicated, and a growing role of SBRT in oligometastatic disease is recognized. For endocrine tumors, adjuvant RT has demonstrated benefits through reducing recurrence risk.

CONCLUSION

The radiotherapy is a frequent indication in adult rare cancers; thus the role of Radiation Oncologist must not be neglected.

Involved-field radiation therapy for selected cases of recurrent ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVES

In our institutional experience, involved-field radiation therapy (IFRT) yields favorable outcomes in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical benefits of IFRT in this patient population.

METHODS

Among patients treated with IFRT for recurrent EOC between 2010 and 2017, 61 patients with 90 treatments were included. IFRT encompassed all treatable lesions identified via imaging studies with 10-15-mm margins. Prescribed doses were ≥45 Gy (equivalent dose in 2 Gy/fraction).

RESULTS

Patients were followed up for a median of 19.0 (Interquartile range, 8.6-34.9) months after IFRT. The 2-year in-field control, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS) rates were 42.7%, 24.2%, and 78.9%, respectively. Fifty-three IFRT sessions (58.9%) were followed by systemic chemotherapy, and the median chemotherapy-free interval (CFI) was 10.5 (95% confidence interval=7.3-13.7) months. A higher carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) level correlated with a worse 2-year OS (69.2% vs. 91.0%; p=0.001) and shorter median CFI (4.7 vs. 11.9 months; p<0.001). Twenty-eight (31.1%) of 90 treatments yielded a long-term CFI >12 months. For patients with a normal CA-125 level and/or platinum-sensitive tumor, IFRT prolonged CFI regardless of pre-existing carcinomatosis, gross tumor volume, and number of treatment sites.

CONCLUSION

Our early experience demonstrates the safety and feasibility of IFRT as an effective salvage therapy and enables a "chemotherapy holiday" in selected recurrent EOC settings. The CA-125 value before IFRT (within normal range) and/or platinum sensitivity could be used as selection criteria for IFRT.

[Radiotherapy for ovarian carcinoma management: Literature review]

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in France with 4714 new cases in 2017. More than 70% of patients whose disease is initially locally advanced will present locoregional or distant recurrence. Therapeutic options in this situation are not consensual. They are based on chemotherapy possibly associated with an iterative cytoreductive surgery when it is bearable by the patient. The place of radiotherapy in the management of the disease is hidden in the vast majority of national or international standards. We conducted a general review of the literature to clarify the role of irradiation in the global management of ovarian cancers, particularly in recurrence.

Cutaneous Metastases in Ovarian Cancer

Skin metastases in ovarian cancer are uncommon, but their incidence may be increasing due to improved survival rates. Skin metastases can be divided into umbilical metastases, which are known as Sister Joseph nodules (SJNs) and are associated with peritoneal metastasis, and non-SJN skin metastases, which usually develop within surgical scars and in the vicinity of superficial lymphadenopathy. As most skin metastases develop after specific conditions, recognition of preceding metastatic diseases and prior treatments is necessary for early diagnosis of skin lesions. The prognosis of skin metastases in ovarian cancer varies widely since they are heterogeneous in the site of lesion and the time of appearance. Patients with SJNs at initial diagnosis and patients with surgical scar recurrences without concomitant metastases may have prolonged survival with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. In patients who developed skin recurrences as a late manifestation, symptoms should be treated with external beam radiotherapy and immune response modifiers. Immune checkpoint blockade can enhance anti-tumor immunity and induce durable clinical responses in multiple tumor types, including advanced chemoresistant ovarian cancer. With the use of radiation therapy, which enhances the systemic anti-tumor immune response, immune checkpoint blockade may be a promising therapeutic strategy for distant metastasis, including skin metastasis.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Oligometastatic Ovarian Cancer: A Step Toward a Drug Holiday

PURPOSE

To evaluate stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for metachronous oligometastatic ovarian cancer patients in terms of local control, delay of systemic treatment, survival outcomes, and toxicity.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Retrospective data collection from a single institution was performed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) oligorecurrent or oligoprogressive disease in ovarian cancer patients during or after systemic therapy; (2) surgery or other local therapies not feasible; and (3) relative contraindication to systemic therapy for reasons such as unavailability of additional chemotherapy lines or refusal of the patient. Tumor response and toxicity were evaluated using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.03, respectively. A new systemic therapy regimen was started after an SBRT treatment course in 57 of 109 cases (52.3%). Local progression-free survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival were calculated via the Kaplan-Meier method. The systemic treatment-free interval was calculated in cases without concomitant systemic therapy.

RESULTS

Between May 2012 and December 2016, 82 patients (156 lesions) underwent SBRT with a median dose of 24 Gy in 3 fractions. The median follow-up period was 17.4 months. Patients received a median of 3 systemic therapy regimens prior to SBRT. Concomitant systemic therapy was performed for 29 lesions (18.6%). Among 152 evaluable lesions, a complete radiologic response, partial response, stabilization, and progressive disease were observed in 91 (60%), 26 (17%), 24 (16%), and 11 (7%), respectively. No grade 3 or 4 acute or late toxicities were observed. The median systemic treatment-free interval after SBRT was 7.4 months, and 1 of 3 patients was disease free at 1 year after SBRT. The actuarial 2-year local progression-free survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival rates were 68%, 18%, and 71%, respectively. The pattern of failure was predominantly out of field.

CONCLUSIONS

SBRT for oligometastatic ovarian cancer showed good local control and a good toxicity profile. It might be an appealing alternative to other invasive local therapies to delay systemic therapy in the case of chemorefractory disease or intolerance to systemic agents.

CT-guided 125I brachytherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer

This retrospective study was to evaluate the local control and survival of ¹²⁵I brachytherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer. 52 ¹²⁵I brachytherapy procedures were performed in 47 patients with 51 recurrent ovarian cancer lesions. The follow-up period was 1-55 months (median 12 months). The local control rate (LC) of 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months was 93.3%, 77.7%, 58.9%, 38.7% and 19.3%, respectively. Patients with tumor size ≤ 4cm (85.7% vs 40.0%, P = 0.037) and actual D90 between 110 to 130Gy (47.4% vs 66.7% vs 62.5%, P = 0.029) had better LC. The 1, 2 and 3 years of overall survival (OS) was 79.3%, 63.0% and 52.5%, respectively. The poor performance status (HR 3.821, 95% CI 1.383-10.555; P = 0.010), concurrent distant metastasis (HR 9.222, 95% CI 1.710-49.737; P = 0.010) and large postoperative residual tumor size (HR 6.157, 95% CI 1.438-26.367; P = 0.014) were closely correlated with a poor OS. Our data indicate thatCT-guided ¹²⁵I brachytherapy is an effective and safe modality for the local treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer.

Revisiting the role of radiation treatment for non-serous subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer

Except for its palliative use, radiation has been largely abandoned in the management of ovarian cancers because of the recognized efficacy of chemotherapy agents. Whole abdominal irradiation (WAR), however, has been shown to be of adjuvant and curative value in ovarian cancer with microscopic or minimal residual disease in the pelvis, the so-called "intermediate risk group." Recent hypothesis generating data from the use of adjuvant radiation following adjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer has shown an incremental survival benefit for the rarer non-serous ovarian subtypes including clear cell, endometrioid, and mucinous. No incremental benefit was observed for the more common serous subtype. A retrospective examination of early trials using WAR as the sole postoperative treatment in ovarian cancer has determined that the majority of patients in these studies and cured by radiation actually had the non-serous subtypes. The recognition that the non-serous subtypes differ from the serous cancers in their stage of presentation, their molecular characteristics, their response to classic chemotherapy, and their outcomes suggest the non-serous subtypes should be treated as rare and different cancers. In addition to specific targeting therapies that may be developed, radiation should be reconsidered as part of the treatment armamentarium for these diseases.

Histotype predicts the curative potential of radiotherapy: the example of ovarian cancers

BACKGROUND

To explore the influence of ovarian cancer histotype on the effectiveness of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT).

METHODS

A review of a population-based experience included all referred women with no reported macroscopic residuum following primary surgery who underwent adjuvant platin-based chemotherapy (CT), with or without sequential RT, and for whom it was possible to assign histotype according to the contemporary criteria.

RESULTS

Seven hundred and three subjects were eligible, of these 351 received RT. For those with apparent stage I and II tumors, the cohort with clear cell (C), endometrioid (E), and mucinous (M) disease who additionally received RT exhibited a 40% reduction in disease-specific mortality and a 43% reduction in overall mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The curability of those with stage I and II C-, E-, and M-type ovarian carcinomas was enhanced by RT-containing adjuvant therapy. This benefit did not extend to those with stage III or serous tumors. These findings necessitate reassessments of the role of RT and of the nonselective surgical and CT approaches that have characterized ovarian cancer care.