A Prospective Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) with Concomitant Whole-Pelvic Radiotherapy (WPRT) for High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer Patients Using 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Guidance: The Preliminary Clinical Outcome

Simple Summary Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRgSBRT) with concomitant whole-pelvic nodal radiotherapy (WPRT) represents a novel radiotherapy paradigm for high-risk prostate cancer (HR-PC), potentially improving online image guidance and clinical outcomes. This is the first prospective study aims to report the preliminary clinical experiences and treatment outcome of 1.5 Tesla adaptive MRgSBRT with concomitant WPRT in HR-PC patients (72.5 +/- 6.8 years). Forty-two consecutive localized HR-PC patients were treated by online adaptive MRgSBRT (8 Gy(prostate)/5 Gy(WPRT) x 5 fractions) combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and followed up (median: 251 days, range: 20-609 days). The maximum cumulative acute gastrointestinal (GI)/ genitourinary (GU) grade 1 and 2 toxicity rates were 19.0%/81.0% and 2.4%/7.1%, respectively. The subacute (>30 days) GI/GU grade 1 and 2 toxicity rates were 21.4%/64.3% and 2.4%/2.4%, respectively. No grade 3 toxicities were reported. Patient-reported quality of life (QoL) showed insignificant changes in urinary, bowel, sexual, and hormonal domain scores during the follow-up period. All patients had early post-MRgSBRT biochemical responses, while biochemical recurrence (prostate-specific antigen nadir + 2 ng/mL) occurred in one patient at month 18. The early results suggested favorable treatment-related toxicities and encouraging patient-reported QoLs, but long-term follow-up is still needed. Background: Conventionally fractionated whole-pelvic nodal radiotherapy (WPRT) improves clinical outcome compared to prostate-only RT in high-risk prostate cancer (HR-PC). MR-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRgSBRT) with concomitant WPRT represents a novel radiotherapy (RT) paradigm for HR-PC, potentially improving online image guidance and clinical outcomes. This study aims to report the preliminary clinical experiences and treatment outcome of 1.5 Tesla adaptive MRgSBRT with concomitant WPRT in HR-PC patients. Materials and methods: Forty-two consecutive HR-PC patients (72.5 +/- 6.8 years) were prospectively enrolled, treated by online adaptive MRgSBRT (8 Gy(prostate)/5 Gy(WPRT) x 5 fractions) combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and followed up (median: 251 days, range: 20-609 days). Clinical outcomes were measured by gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicities according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Scale v. 5.0, patient-reported quality of life (QoL) with EPIC (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite) questionnaire, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) responses. Results: All MRgSBRT fractions achieved planning objectives and dose specifications of the targets and organs at risk, and they were successfully delivered. The maximum cumulative acute GI/GU grade 1 and 2 toxicity rates were 19.0%/81.0% and 2.4%/7.1%, respectively. The subacute (>30 days) GI/GU grade 1 and 2 toxicity rates were 21.4%/64.3% and 2.4%/2.4%, respectively. No grade 3 toxicities were reported. QoL showed insignificant changes in urinary, bowel, sexual, and hormonal domain scores during the follow-up period. All patients had early post-MRgSBRT biochemical responses, while biochemical recurrence (PSA nadir + 2 ng/mL) occurred in one patient at month 18. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study that showed the clinical outcomes of MRgSBRT with concomitant WPRT in HR-PC patients. The early results suggested favorable treatment-related toxicities and encouraging patient-reported QoLs, but long-term follow-up is needed to confirm our early results.

Automated summary

This study reports the preliminary clinical experiences and treatment outcomes of 1.5 Tesla adaptive MR-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRgSBRT) with concomitant whole-pelvic nodal radiotherapy (WPRT) in high-risk prostate cancer (HR-PC) patients. The early results showed favorable treatment-related toxicities and encouraging patient-reported quality of life (QoL), but long-term follow-up is needed for confirmation.