Publications by authors named "Alessandra Siegmann"
Background And Purpose: Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is a curative treatment option in patients with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP). Undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 0.1 ng/mL following SRT predicts biochemical progression-free survival (BPFS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious randomized trials have not provided conclusive evidence about dose escalations and associated toxicities for salvage radiotherapy (SRT) in prostate cancer. Here, we retrospectively analyzed whether dose escalations influenced progression-free survival in 554 patients that received salvage radiotherapy for relapses or persistently elevated prostate cancer antigen (PSA) after a radical prostatectomy. Patients received SRT between 1997 and 2017 at two University Hospitals in Germany.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) improves oncologic outcomes in prostate cancer (PCa) patients who develop biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP). However, evidence on hard clinical endpoints is scarce. We compare long-term oncologic outcomes of SRT versus no radiotherapy (noRT) in patients with BCR after RP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- In prostate cancer patients who had surgery and then needed more treatment, doctors recommend starting a special kind of radiation therapy when blood tests show a certain level of PSA (a marker for cancer).
- A study looked at 603 patients to see how well this radiation therapy worked, comparing results from when they started the therapy to when they had surgery.
- The findings showed that lower PSA levels before starting radiation could lead to better outcomes, meaning early treatment is really important and the idea of "lead-time bias" (which suggests early treatment doesn't really help) was proven wrong.
Objective: To test whether salvage radiotherapy (SRT) in patients with lymph node negative (N0) prostate cancer is equally effective with persistent prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PSA rising from the undetectable range (<0.1 ng/mL) after radical prostatectomy (RP).
Patients And Methods: We assessed post-SRT PSA progression-free survival (PFS) in 555 patients with prostate cancer.
Background: For patients with recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy (RP), salvage radiotherapy (SRT) offers a second chance of cure. European guidelines (EAU) recommend SRT at a PSA < 0.5 ng/ml.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For patients with recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy (RP), salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is a second chance of cure. However, depending on risk factors, 40-70% of the patients experience further progression. With a focus on the pre- and post-SRT serum level of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), we assessed the determinants of the long-term outcome after SRT.
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- The study looks at the best time to start radiation therapy after prostate surgery, focusing on PSA levels.
- Researchers studied two groups of men: one with low PSA levels (0.1-0.19 ng/ml) and another who received radiation therapy.
- They found that most men with PSA levels starting at 0.1 ng/ml will eventually have higher levels, and starting radiation early could help prevent more problems.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers studied how factors affect prostate cancer patients after surgery who need more radiation treatment.
- They found that starting treatment when PSA levels are low (<0.2 ng/ml) is better for patients and helps them live longer without the cancer coming back.
- Their findings suggest that keeping PSA levels below 0.1 ng/ml after treatment is important for preventing recurrences and improving survival rates.
Objective: The ARO 96-02 trial primarily compared wait-and-see (WS, arm A) with adjuvant radiation therapy (ART, arm B) in prostate cancer patients who achieved an undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical prostatectomy (RP). Here, we report the outcome with up to 12 years of follow-up of patients who retained a post-RP detectable PSA and received salvage radiation therapy (SRT, arm C).
Methods And Materials: For the study, 388 patients with pT3-4pN0 prostate cancer with positive or negative surgical margins were recruited.
Background: Local failure after radical prostatectomy (RP) is common in patients with cancer extending beyond the capsule. Three prospectively randomized trials demonstrated an advantage for adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) compared with a wait-and-see (WS) policy.
Objective: To determine the efficiency of ART after a 10-yr follow-up in the ARO 96-02 study.
Article Synopsis
- A study compared two types of treatment for prostate cancer: one group got surgery followed by extra radiation, while the other just had surgery.
- They reviewed the pathology (the study of disease) of patients to check how accurate their diagnoses were and how it affected treatment outcomes.
- The results showed that while some aspects matched well between different pathologists, there was less agreement on how serious the cancer was, which could change treatment plans in the future.
Article Synopsis
- Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is a treatment for prostate cancer patients who have a recurrence of the disease after surgery, but it only works well for about 30% of them over ten years.
- The study looked at 301 patients to see if starting SRT at a lower PSA level (≤ 0.28 ng/ml) would give better results compared to a higher PSA level (> 0.28 ng/ml).
- Results showed that patients with a PSA ≤ 0.28 ng/ml had a better chance of not having the cancer progress after treatment, suggesting starting SRT at this lower level is beneficial.
Purpose: The optimal dose for salvage radiotherapy (SRT) after radical prostatectomy (RP) is still not defined. It should be at least 66 Gy. In the present study, the suitability of PSA regression as a selection criterion for an SRT dose escalation to 70.
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- The study aimed to determine if immediate adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy (RP) improves outcomes for patients with pT3 prostate cancer and undetectable PSA compared to a wait-and-see approach.
- After RP, 192 men were placed in the wait-and-see group, while 193 were assigned to immediate RT; only those with undetectable PSA were included, resulting in 307 eligible subjects.
- Results showed that the RT group had significantly better biochemical progression-free survival at 5 years (72%) compared to the wait-and-see group (54%), indicating that early RT helps reduce the risk of disease progression.
Article Synopsis
- Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is effective for prostate cancer patients experiencing biochemical failure post-surgery, but achieving an undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is low, with only 20-25% success over ten years.
- A study of 162 patients from 1997 to 2004 showed that 60% achieved undetectable PSA levels after SRT, with key predictors for success including pre-treatment PSA levels and margin status.
- The results highlighted that achieving undetectable PSA significantly improves long-term biochemical relapse-free survival, underlining the importance of this outcome in SRT effectiveness.
Background: Due to its radioresistance, the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains poor. Therefore, we investigated the impact of simultaneous radio-chemotherapy with topotecan (Hycamtin) on clinical outcome, tolerability and quality of life.
Patients And Methods: In this multicenter trial, 60 patients (19 females, 41 males) with histologically proven (5x biopsy, 31x subtotal resection, 24x total resection) GBM were included.
Background And Purpose: Recommendations for radiation ports in adjuvant radiation therapy for rectal cancer are mainly based on analysis of recurrence patterns. To evaluate whether changes in surgical technique have influenced this pattern of recurrence, a multicenter retrospective analysis was carried out on a patient population treated recently.
Patients And Methods: 123 patients were evaluated with the help of a CT-based self-developed 3-D data file system and an extensive questionnaire.
Background And Aims: The lateral pelvic sidewall is an area not routinely dissected during standard operative procedures in surgery for rectal cancer in Western countries. This study analyzed data to evaluate the pattern of recurrence in rectal cancer with special emphasis on lateral tumor extension in a recently treated patient population.
Patients And Methods: In a multicenter retrospective study 123 patients were evaluated by our own CT-based three-dimensional datafile system and an extensive questionnaire.