Publications by authors named "Eric M Horwitz"

Purpose: Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by cystectomy is the standard of care for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Mutations in DNA damage repair genes are associated with pathologic downstaging after NAC. We hypothesized that a combination of biomarker selection and clinical staging would identify patients for cystectomy-sparing active surveillance (AS).

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Purpose: We aim to investigate perioperative and subacute postoperative complications in patients undergoing LDR or HDR monotherapy for prostate cancer. We hypothesize a low rate of complications, and a favorable toxicity profile in patients treated with HDR compared to LDR.

Materials And Methods: A prospectively collected institutional database was queried for patients treated with HDR or LDR prostate monotherapy between 1998 and 2021.

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Background: Intensification of therapy may improve outcomes for patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer.

Objective: To provide long-term follow-up data from phase III RTOG 0521, which compared a combination of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) + external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) + docetaxel with ADT + EBRT.

Design, Setting, And Participants: High-risk localized prostate cancer patients (>50% of patients had Gleason 9-10 disease) were prospectively randomized to 2 yr of ADT + EBRT or ADT + EBRT + six cycles of docetaxel.

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Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been associated with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction (MI) in prostate cancer patients, but controversy persists regarding its effects on cardiovascular mortality (CVM).

Objective: We assessed the long-term relationship between ADT and CVM in a prostate cancer randomized trial (NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9202).

Design, Setting, And Participants: From 1992 to 1995, 1554 men with locally advanced prostate cancer (T2c-T4, prostate-specific antigen <150 ng/ml) received radiotherapy with 4 mo (short-term [STADT]) versus 28 mo (longer-term [LTADT]) of ADT.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 287 patients received IMRT and 485 received PBT, with no significant differences found in late GI and GU toxicities between the two treatment methods after analysis.
  • * The results suggest that both treatment modalities resulted in low rates of late toxicities, and the patient-reported outcomes were comparable when adjusting for factors like age and risk group.
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Background: Elicitation of patients' preferences is an integral part of shared decision-making, the recommended approach for prostate cancer decision-making. Existing decision aids for this population often do not specifically focus on patients' preferences. Healium is a brief interactive web-based decision aid that aims to elicit patients' treatment preferences and is designed for a low health literate population.

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Purpose: We hypothesize rectal hydrogel spacer (RHS) improves rectal dosimetry in patients undergoing salvage high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) for intact, recurrent prostate cancer (PC).

Methods And Materials: A prospectively collected institutional database was queried for recurrent PC patients treated with salvage HDR-BT from September 2015 to November 2021. Patients were offered RHS beginning June 2019.

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Background: Intensification of therapy may improve outcomes for patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer.

Objective: To provide long-term follow-up data from phase III RTOG 0521, which compared a combination of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) + external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) + docetaxel with ADT + EBRT.

Design, Setting, And Participants: High-risk localized prostate cancer patients (>50% of patients had Gleason 9-10 disease) were prospectively randomized to 2 yr of ADT + EBRT or ADT + EBRT + six cycles of docetaxel.

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Background And Purpose: Local recurrences after previous radiotherapy (RT) are increasingly being identified in biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. Salvage prostate brachytherapy (BT) is an effective and well tolerated treatment option. We sought to generate international consensus statements on the use and preferred technical considerations for salvage prostate BT.

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Background: Supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the availability of components for specimen collection kits to detect SARS-CoV-2. Plastic injection molding offers a rapid and cheap method for mass production of swabs for upper respiratory tract sampling. Local production of virus transport medium increases flexibility to assemble sample collection kits if the medium provides appropriate stability for SARS-CoV-2 detection.

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Article Synopsis
  • A phase 1 trial was conducted to assess the safety and early effectiveness of durvalumab (D) alone and in combination with BCG or EBRT for treating patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who did not respond to standard BCG therapy.
  • Patients received D every 3 weeks for eight cycles, with some also receiving BCG or EBRT, and outcomes were measured using cystoscopy, urine cytology, and bladder biopsies at 3 and 6 months.
  • Results showed that 64% of patients achieved a complete response at 3 months, with notable responses in combination therapy groups, suggesting that D combined with BCG or EBRT is safe and warrants further investigation.
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Background: Previous studies indicate that the benefit of short-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer depends on competing risks.

Objective: To determine whether a quantitative method to stratify patients by risk for competing events (omega score) could identify subgroups that selectively benefit from ADT.

Design, Setting, And Participants: An ancillary analysis of NRG/RTOG 9408 phase 3 trial (NCT00002597) involving 1945 prostate cancer patients was conducted.

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Purpose: There is considerable interest in very short (ultrahypofractionated) radiation therapy regimens to treat prostate cancer based on potential radiobiological advantages, patient convenience, and resource allocation benefits. Our objective is to demonstrate that detectable changes in health-related quality of life measured by the bowel and urinary domains of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-50) were not substantially worse than baseline scores.

Methods And Materials: NRG Oncology's RTOG 0938 is a nonblinded randomized phase 2 study of National Comprehensive Cancer Network low-risk prostate cancer in which each arm is compared with a historical control.

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine whether limiting the doses delivered to the penile bulb (PB) and corporal bodies with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) preserves erectile function compared with standard IMRT in men with prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: A total of 117 patients with low- to intermediate-risk, clinical T1a-T2c prostate adenocarcinoma were enrolled in a single-institution, prospective, single-blind, phase 3 randomized trial. All received definitive IMRT to 74 to 80 Gy in 37 to 40 fractions and standard IMRT (s-IMRT) or erectile tissue-sparing IMRT (ETS-IMRT), which placed additional planning constraints that limited the D90 to the penile bulb and corporal bodies to ≤15 Gy and ≤7 Gy, respectively.

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Purpose: Very-high-risk (VHR) prostate cancer (PC) is an aggressive subgroup with high risk of distant disease progression. Systemic treatment intensification with abiraterone or docetaxel reduces PC-specific mortality (PCSM) and distant metastasis (DM) in men receiving external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Whether prostate-directed treatment intensification with the addition of brachytherapy (BT) boost to EBRT with ADT improves outcomes in this group is unclear.

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Purpose: To compare the predictive ability of mapping algorithms derived using cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Methods: This methodological assessment used data from a randomized controlled noninferiority trial of patients with low-risk prostate cancer, conducted by NRG Oncology (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00331773), which examined the efficacy of conventional schedule versus hypofractionated radiation therapy (three-dimensional conformal external beam radiation therapy/IMRT).

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Purpose: The summary presented herein represents Part II of the three-part series dedicated to Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: AUA/ASTRO Guideline, discussing principles of active surveillance and surgery as well as follow-up for patients after primary treatment. Please refer to Parts I and III for discussion of risk assessment, staging, and risk-based management (Part I), and principles of radiation and future directions (Part III).

Materials And Methods: The systematic review utilized to inform this guideline was conducted by an independent methodological consultant.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text summarizes Part I of a three-part series on Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer, focusing on risk assessment, staging, and management strategies.
  • It outlines the methods used for a systematic review to develop evidence-based guidelines, including searches of key medical databases and reference lists.
  • The resulting guideline aims to guide clinicians in effectively managing clinically localized prostate cancer while emphasizing the importance of ongoing research to enhance patient care.
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Purpose: The summary presented herein represents Part III of the three-part series dedicated to Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: AUA/ASTRO Guideline, discussing principles of radiation and offering several future directions of further relevant study in patients diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer. Please refer to Parts I and II for discussion of risk assessment, staging, and risk-based management (Part I), and principles of active surveillance and surgery and follow-up (Part II).

Materials And Methods: The systematic review utilized to inform this guideline was conducted by an independent methodological consultant.

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Background: Most safety and efficacy trials of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines excluded patients with cancer, yet these patients are more likely than healthy individuals to contract SARS-CoV-2 and more likely to become seriously ill after infection. Our objective was to record short-term adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine in patients with cancer, to compare the magnitude and duration of these reactions with those of patients without cancer, and to determine whether adverse reactions are related to active cancer therapy.

Patients And Methods: A prospective, single-institution observational study was performed at an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Importance: Radiotherapy combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a standard of care for high-risk prostate cancer. However, the interplay between radiotherapy dose and the required minimum duration of ADT is uncertain.

Objective: To determine the specific ADT duration threshold that provides a distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) benefit in patients with high-risk prostate cancer receiving external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or EBRT with a brachytherapy boost (EBRT+BT).

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Importance: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can detect low-volume, nonlocalized (ie, regional or metastatic) prostate cancer that was occult on conventional imaging. However, the long-term clinical implications of PSMA PET/CT upstaging remain unclear.

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic significance of a nomogram that models an individual's risk of nonlocalized upstaging on PSMA PET/CT and to compare its performance with existing risk-stratification tools.

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Purpose: We report efficacy of a prospective phase 2 trial (NCT00450411) of salvage low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy (BT) for local failure (LF) after prior external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with minimum 5-years' follow-up.

Methods And Materials: Eligible patients had low/intermediate risk prostate cancer (PCa) before EBRT and biopsy-proven LF >30 months after EBRT, with prostate-specific antigen <10 ng/mL and no regional/distant disease. The primary endpoint, late gastrointestinal and genitourinary adverse events (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.

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Purpose: This study used a patient-specific model to characterize and compare ideal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer after definitive radiation treatment with conventionally fractionated, hypofractionated, stereotactic body radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, both high-dose and low-dose rate.

Methods And Materials: This retrospective analysis includes low- and intermediate-risk patients with prostate cancer treated between 1998 and 2018 at an National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Demographics and treatment characteristics were prospectively collected.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates treatment outcomes for men with high-risk prostate cancer, focusing on those exhibiting severe clinical features, between 2000 and 2014 at various medical centers.
  • It compares three treatment methods: radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), and EBRT with a brachytherapy boost (BT) combined with ADT.
  • Findings indicate that patients treated with EBRT (either alone or with BT) had significantly lower rates of prostate cancer-specific mortality compared to those who underwent RP.
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