Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES:High-dose, hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) is sometimes used to treat malignancy in the head-and-neck (HN), both in the curative and palliative setting. Its safety and efficacy have been reported in small studies and are still controversial. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We retrospectively evaluated the outcomes and toxicities of HFRT, including ultra-high-dose fractionation schemes (⩾8Gray per fraction), for HN malignancies. RESULTS:A total of 62 sites of measurable gross disease in 48 patients were analyzed. The median follow-up was 54.3months among five survivors and 6.0months in the remaining patients. Median RT dose was 30Gray in 5 fractions; 20/62 lesions (32%) received dose-per-fraction of ⩾8Gray. Overall response rate at first follow-up was 79%. One-year local-progression free rate was 50%. On multivariate analysis for locoregional control, dose-per-fraction ⩾6Gray was associated with control (p=0.04) and previous radiation was associated with inferior control (p=0.04). Patients who achieved complete response to RT had longer survival than those who did not (p=0.01). Increased toxicity rates were not observed among patients treated with dose-per-fraction ⩾8Gray; only re-irradiation increased toxicity rates. CONCLUSION:Despite the poor prognostic features noted in this cohort of patients with HN malignancies, HFRT was associated with high response rates, good local control, and acceptable toxicity. Sites that were treated with 6Gray per fraction or higher and had not been previously irradiated had the best disease control. A prospective trial is warranted to further refine the use and indications of HFRT in this setting.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To report the long-term outcome and patterns of relapse of a large cohort of marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) patients treated with curative-intent radiation therapy (RT) alone. PATIENTS AND METHODS/METHODS:We reviewed the charts of 490 consecutive patients with stage IE or IIE MZL referred between 1992 and 2012 to our institution. Of those, 244 patients (50%) were treated with RT alone. Pathology was confirmed by hematopathologists at our institution. Patient and disease factors were analyzed for association with relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS:Median age of the cohort was 59 years, and median follow-up was 5.2 years. Ann Arbor stage was IE in 92%. Most common disease sites were stomach (50%), orbit (18%), non-thyroid head-and-neck (8%), skin (8%), and breast (5%). Median RT dose was 30 Gy. Five-year OS and RFS were 92% and 74%, respectively. Cumulative incidence of disease-specific death was just 1.1% by 5 years. Sixty patients (24%) developed relapse of disease; 10 were in the RT field. Crude rate of transformation to pathologically confirmed large-cell lymphoma was 1.6%. On multivariable analysis, primary disease site (P=.007) was independently associated with RFS, along with age (P=.04), presence of B-symptoms (P=.02), and International Prognostic Index risk group (P=.03). All disease sites except for head-and-neck had worse RFS relative to stomach. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Overall and cause-specific survival are high in early-stage extra-nodal MZL treated with curative RT alone. In this large cohort of 244 patients, most patients did not experience relapse of MZL after curative RT; when relapses did occur, the majority were in distant sites. Stomach cases were less likely to relapse than other anatomic sites. Transformation to large-cell lymphoma was rare.