Proton Beam Radiotherapy: Report of the First Ten Patients Treated at the "Centro Nazionale Di Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO)" for Skull Base and Spine Tumours

Overview

Journal Radiol Med

Specialty Radiology

Date 2013 Dec 17

PMID 24337759

Citations 10

Authors

Roberto Orecchia

Viviana Vitolo

Maria Rosaria Fiore

Piero Fossati

Alberto Iannalfi

Barbara Vischioni

Anurita Srivastava

Jeffrey Tuan

Mario Ciocca

Silvia Molinelli

Alfredo Mirandola

Gloria Vilches

Andrea Mairani

Barbara Tagaste

Marco Riboldi

Giulia Fontana

Guido Baroni

Sandro Rossi

Marco Krengli

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: The Italian National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy (Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica, CNAO), equipped with a proton and ion synchrotron, started clinical activity in September 2011. The clinical and technical characteristics of the first ten proton beam radiotherapy treatments are reported.

Materials And Methods: Ten patients, six males and four females (age range 27-73 years, median 55.5), were treated with proton beam radiotherapy. After one to two surgical procedures, seven patients received a histological diagnosis of chordoma (of the skull base in three cases, the cervical spine in one case and the sacrum in three cases) and three of low-grade chondrosarcoma (skull base). Prescribed doses were 74 GyE for chordoma and 70 GyE for chondrosarcoma at 2 GyE/fraction delivered 5 days per week.

Results: Treatment was well tolerated without toxicity-related interruptions. The maximal acute toxicity was grade 2, with oropharyngeal mucositis, nausea and vomiting for the skull base tumours, and grade 2 dermatitis for the sacral tumours. After 6-12 months of follow-up, no patient developed tumour progression.

Conclusions: The analysis of the first ten patients treated with proton therapy at CNAO showed that this treatment was feasible and safe. Currently, patient accrual into these as well as other approved protocols is continuing, and a longer follow-up period is needed to assess tumour control and late toxicity.

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