SPECT/CT lymphoscintigraphy of sentinel node(s) for superselective prophylactic irradiation of the neck in cN0 head and neck cancer patients: a prospective phase I feasibility study

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Abstract

Background

Clinically node negative HNSCC patients have a risk ranging between 18 and 45% of occult metastases, making prophylactic irradiation mandatory. Selective irradiation of nodal target volume based on international guidelines is practice. Anyway, about half the tumours lying in an anatomical subsite known to potentially drain bilaterally effectively do so, leading to unnecessary large volume irradiation. Moreover, 15% of the tumours show drainage outside of predicted basin, increasing the risk for potential geographical misses. Three-dimensional SPECT/CT lymphoscintigraphy (LS) of sentinel node(s) may help to individualize nodal target volume selection. This prospective phase I study explores its feasibility and the dosimetric impact.

Methods

Ten cN0 HNSCC patients eligible for definitive radiotherapy were imaged with SPECT/CT after ^99mTc nanocolloid injection around the tumour. The neck levels containing up to four hottest nodes were identified and selected for prophylactic irradiation (CTVn-LS) by volumetric modulated arc therapy. A comparative virtual planning was performed with volumes selected according to international guidelines (CTVn-IG).

Results

Migration was observed in all patients (one with gamma probe only). 2.9 sentinel nodes were detected per patient on average. In some patients, accurate localization was difficult when not using thermoplastic mask for SPECT/CT. CTVn-LS was totally encompassed by CTVn-IG in all patients but one (unpredicted drainage in retropharyngeal level). On average, CTVn-LS and related planning target volumes were two times smaller than IG ones. This led to significant dose decrease in identified organs at risk as well as remaining volume at risk.

Conclusions

SPECT/CT LS is a promising tool to individualize prophylactic node CTV in cN0 HNSCC patients eligible for definitive radiotherapy. Oncological safety must be confirmed by ongoing phase II study.

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Most cited references 24

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Parotid-sparing intensity modulated versus conventional radiotherapy in head and neck cancer (PARSPORT): a phase 3 multicentre randomised controlled trial

Christopher Nutting, James Morden, Kevin J. Harrington … (2011)

Summary Background Xerostomia is the most common late side-effect of radiotherapy to the head and neck. Compared with conventional radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) can reduce irradiation of the parotid glands. We assessed the hypothesis that parotid-sparing IMRT reduces the incidence of severe xerostomia. Methods We undertook a randomised controlled trial between Jan 21, 2003, and Dec 7, 2007, that compared conventional radiotherapy (control) with parotid-sparing IMRT. We randomly assigned patients with histologically confirmed pharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma (T1–4, N0–3, M0) at six UK radiotherapy centres between the two radiotherapy techniques (1:1 ratio). A dose of 60 or 65 Gy was prescribed in 30 daily fractions given Monday to Friday. Treatment was not masked. Randomisation was by computer-generated permuted blocks and was stratified by centre and tumour site. Our primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with grade 2 or worse xerostomia at 12 months, as assessed by the Late Effects of Normal Tissue (LENT SOMA) scale. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis, with all patients who had assessments included. Long-term follow-up of patients is ongoing. This study is registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial register, number ISRCTN48243537. Findings 47 patients were assigned to each treatment arm. Median follow-up was 44·0 months (IQR 30·0–59·7). Six patients from each group died before 12 months and seven patients from the conventional radiotherapy and two from the IMRT group were not assessed at 12 months. At 12 months xerostomia side-effects were reported in 73 of 82 alive patients; grade 2 or worse xerostomia at 12 months was significantly lower in the IMRT group than in the conventional radiotherapy group (25 [74%; 95% CI 56–87] of 34 patients given conventional radiotherapy vs 15 [38%; 23–55] of 39 given IMRT, p=0·0027). The only recorded acute adverse event of grade 2 or worse that differed significantly between the treatment groups was fatigue, which was more prevalent in the IMRT group (18 [41%; 99% CI 23–61] of 44 patients given conventional radiotherapy vs 35 [74%; 55–89] of 47 given IMRT, p=0·0015). At 24 months, grade 2 or worse xerostomia was significantly less common with IMRT than with conventional radiotherapy (20 [83%; 95% CI 63–95] of 24 patients given conventional radiotherapy vs nine [29%; 14–48] of 31 given IMRT; p<0·0001). At 12 and 24 months, significant benefits were seen in recovery of saliva secretion with IMRT compared with conventional radiotherapy, as were clinically significant improvements in dry-mouth-specific and global quality of life scores. At 24 months, no significant differences were seen between randomised groups in non-xerostomia late toxicities, locoregional control, or overall survival. Interpretation Sparing the parotid glands with IMRT significantly reduces the incidence of xerostomia and leads to recovery of saliva secretion and improvements in associated quality of life, and thus strongly supports a role for IMRT in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Funding Cancer Research UK (CRUK/03/005).

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Sentinel lymph node biopsy accurately stages the regional lymph nodes for T1-T2 oral squamous cell carcinomas: results of a prospective multi-institutional trial.

Robert Ferris, David E. Schuller, Tyler Smith … (2010)

The validity of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for T1 or T2, clinically N0, oral cancer was tested by correlation of sentinel node pathologic status with that of nodes within the completion neck dissection. This prospective, cooperative group trial involved 25 institutions over a 3-year period. One hundred forty patients with invasive oral cancers, stage T1 and T2, N0 including 95 cancers of the tongue, 26 of the floor of mouth, and 19 other oral cancers were studied. The study excluded lesions with diameter smaller than 6 mm or minimal invasion. Imaging was used to exclude nonpalpable gross nodal disease. Patients underwent injection of the lesion with (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid, nuclear imaging, narrow-exposure SLNB, and completion selective neck dissection. The major end point was the negative-predictive value (NPV) of SLNB. In the 106 SLNBs, which were found to be pathologically and clinically node-negative by routine hematoxylin and eosin stain, 100 patients were found to have no other pathologically positive nodes, corresponding to a NPV of 94%. With additional sectioning and immunohistochemistry, NPV was improved to 96%. In the forty patients with proven cervical metastases, the true-positive rate was 90.2% and was superior for tongue tumors relative to floor of mouth. For T1 lesions, metastases were correctly identified in 100%. For T1 or T2 N0 oral squamous cell carcinoma, SLNB with step sectioning and immunohistochemistry, performed by surgeons of mixed experience levels, correctly predicted a pathologically negative neck in 96% of patients (NPV, 96%).

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Atlas-based automatic segmentation of head and neck organs at risk and nodal target volumes: a clinical validation

Jean-Francois Daisne, Andreas Blumhofer (2013)

Background Intensity modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer necessitates accurate definition of organs at risk (OAR) and clinical target volumes (CTV). This crucial step is time consuming and prone to inter- and intra-observer variations. Automatic segmentation by atlas deformable registration may help to reduce time and variations. We aim to test a new commercial atlas algorithm for automatic segmentation of OAR and CTV in both ideal and clinical conditions. Methods The updated Brainlab automatic head and neck atlas segmentation was tested on 20 patients: 10 cN0-stages (ideal population) and 10 unselected N-stages (clinical population). Following manual delineation of OAR and CTV, automatic segmentation of the same set of structures was performed and afterwards manually corrected. Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Average Surface Distance (ASD) and Maximal Surface Distance (MSD) were calculated for “manual to automatic” and “manual to corrected” volumes comparisons. Results In both groups, automatic segmentation saved about 40% of the corresponding manual segmentation time. This effect was more pronounced for OAR than for CTV. The edition of the automatically obtained contours significantly improved DSC, ASD and MSD. Large distortions of normal anatomy or lack of iodine contrast were the limiting factors. Conclusions The updated Brainlab atlas-based automatic segmentation tool for head and neck Cancer patients is timesaving but still necessitates review and corrections by an expert.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Jean-François Daisne

Johanne Installé

Benoît Bihin

Marc Laloux

Thierry Vander Borght

Isabelle Mathieu

Georges Lawson

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Radiat Oncol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Radiat Oncol

Title: Radiation Oncology (London, England)

Publisher: BioMed Central

ISSN (Electronic): 1748-717X

Publication date Collection: 2014

Publication date (Electronic): 28 May 2014

Volume: 9

Page: 121

Affiliations

[1 ]Radiation Oncology, Clinique & Maternité Ste-Elisabeth, Place Louise Godin, Namur 15 – 5000, Belgium

[2 ]Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS), Namur, Belgium

[3 ]Nuclear Medicine, Clinique & Maternité Sainte-Elisabeth, Namur, Belgium

[4 ]Unit of Methodology and Didactic in Biology (UMDB), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

[5 ]Unit of Biostatistics, CHU Dinant-Godinne, Université Catholique de Louvain, Yvoir, Belgium

[6 ]Head and Neck Surgery, Clinique & Maternité Sainte-Elisabeth, Namur, Belgium

[7 ]Nuclear Medicine, CHU Dinant-Godinne, Université Catholique de Louvain, Yvoir, Belgium

[8 ]Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Dinant-Godinne, Université Catholique de Louvain, Yvoir, Belgium

Article

Publisher ID: 1748-717X-9-121

DOI: 10.1186/1748-717X-9-121

PMC ID: 4040475

SO-VID: 9489d41a-255d-44a2-9485-815855ef722b

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

SPECT/CT lymphoscintigraphy of sentinel node(s) for superselective prophylactic irradiation of the neck in cN0 head and neck cancer patients: a prospective phase I feasibility study

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Karger: Oncology

Most cited references 24

Parotid-sparing intensity modulated versus conventional radiotherapy in head and neck cancer (PARSPORT): a phase 3 multicentre randomised controlled trial

Sentinel lymph node biopsy accurately stages the regional lymph nodes for T1-T2 oral squamous cell carcinomas: results of a prospective multi-institutional trial.

Atlas-based automatic segmentation of head and neck organs at risk and nodal target volumes: a clinical validation

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