Introduction Volumetric-modulated arcs (VMA) can produce dose distributions suitable for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with a multi-leaf collimator (MLC) for brain metastases (BMs). The treatment planning and verification for VMA are more complicated than for dynamic conformal arcs. The longer the preparation time from image acquisition to the start of irradiation, the higher the risk of tumor growth and/or displacement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction In linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) leveraging a multileaf collimator (MLC) for brain metastasis (BM), volumetric-modulated arcs (VMAs) enable the generation of a suitable dose distribution with efficient planning and delivery. However, the arc arrangement, including the number of arcs, allocation, and rotation ranges, varies substantially among devices and facilities. Some modalities allow coplanar arc(s) (CA(s)) or beam(s) alone, and some facilities only use them intentionally despite the availability of non-coplanar arcs (NCAs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastasis (BM), the target dose inhomogeneity remains highly variable among modalities, irradiation techniques, and facilities, which can affect tumor response during and after multi-fraction SRS. Volumetric-modulated arcs (VMAs) can provide a concentrically-layered steep dose increase inside a gross tumor volume (GTV) boundary compared to dynamic conformal arcs. This study was conducted to review the optimal evaluation method for the internal GTV doses relevant to maximal response and local control, specifically to examine the significance of the doses 2 mm and 4 mm inside the GTV boundary in VMA-based SRS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastasis (BM), volumetric-modulated arcs (VMA) can provide a suitable dose distribution and efficient delivery, even with a widely available 5-mm leaf-width multileaf collimator (MLC). The planning optimization with affirmatively accepting internal high doses of a gross tumor volume (GTV) enhances the steepness of the dose gradient outside the GTV. However, an excessively steep dose falloff outside a GTV is susceptible to insufficient coverage of inherent irradiation uncertainties with the dose attenuation margin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastasis (BM), the prescribed dose is generally reported as a minimum dose to cover a specific percentage (e.g. ) of the gross tumor volume (GTV) with or without a margin or an unspecified intended marginal dose to the GTV boundary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Pretreatment serum cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) level predicts outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer; however, little is known about the clinical value of serum CYFRA21-1 level in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment serum CYFRA21-1 level in patients with extensive disease (ED)-SCLC treated using platinum-doublet chemotherapy.
Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the pretreatment serum CYFRA21-1 levels of patients with ED-SCLC who were treated using first-line platinum-doublet chemotherapy.
General radiotherapeutic management for >10 brain metastases (BMs) totaling >100 cm, including multiple large lesions (>10-30 cm) in close proximity, demonstrated limited efficacy and/or safety. We describe a case of 12 BMs, summating 122.2 cm, including a 39.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA deep-seated, locally infiltrative 5.8-cm brain metastasis (BM) involving the ventricular wall and optic radiation is deemed unamenable for a safe total resection, while preventing tumor seeding. Meanwhile, radiotherapeutic management alone for such a BM close to the brainstem is also challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn isolated single brain metastasis (BM) is an extremely rare manifestation of failure in patients with cecal adenocarcinoma (CAC). Total resection (while preserving function) of a 3-cm BM involving both the primary motor and sensory cortexes presents a conundrum: achieving long-term local control and safety of such a BM is also challenging for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). We describe the case of a 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical management of patients with local control failure following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastasis (BM) can be frequently challenging. Re-irradiation with multi-fraction (fr) SRS by using a biological effective dose of ≥80 Gy, based on the linear-quadratic formula with an alpha/beta ratio of 10 (BED), can be an efficacious option for such a scenario with the BED of <80 Gy. However, its long-term safety beyond one year remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFirst-line and possibly repeated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with preserving whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is an attractive and promising option for synchronous or metachronous limited brain metastases (BMs) from small cell lung cancer (SCLC), for which a modest prescription dose is generally preferred, such as a biological effective dose of ≤60 Gy, based on the linear-quadratic formula with an alpha/beta ratio of 10 (BED). In addition, the optimal planning scheme for re-SRS for local progression after SRS of BMs from SCLC remains unclear. Herein, we describe a case of limited BMs developing after a partial response to standard chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for limited-stage SCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandard whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) alone for large brain metastases (BMs) from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has limited efficacy and durability, and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone for symptomatic posterior fossa BMs >3 cm with satellite lesions is challenging. Herein, we describe the case of a 73-year-old female presenting with treatment-naïve SCLC and 15 symptomatic multiple BMs, including a ≥3.8-cm cerebellar mass (≥17.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe criteria for indication of salvage stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for local progression following multi-fraction (mf) SRS of brain metastases (BMs) remain controversial, along with the optimal planning scheme. Herein, we described a case of BMs from pan-negative lung adenocarcinoma (LAC), in which the two lesions of local progression following initial eight-fraction (8-fr) SRS were re-treated with 5-fr SRS with the biologically effective dose (BED) of ≥80 Gy, based on the linear-quadratic (LQ) formula with an alpha/beta ratio of 10. The re-SRS resulted in the alleviation of symptoms and favorable tumor responses with minimal adverse effects during the 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFive-fraction (fr) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is increasingly being applied to large brain metastases (BMs) >2-3 cm in diameter, for which 30-35 Gy is the commonly prescribed dose. Since 2018, to further enhance both safety and efficacy, we have limited the five-fr SRS to approximately ≤3 cm BMs and adopted our own modified dose prescription and distribution: 43 and 31 Gy cover the boundaries of the gross tumor volume (GTV) and 2 mm outside the GTV, respectively, along with a steep dose increase inside the GTV boundary, that is, an intentionally very inhomogeneous GTV dose. Herein, we describe a case of symptomatic BM treated with five-fr SRS using the above policy, which resulted in a maximum tumor response with nearly complete remission (nCR) followed by gradual tumor regrowth despite obvious tumor shrinkage during irradiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) planning for brain metastases (BMs), the target volume is usually defined as an enhancing lesion based on contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance images (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) images. However, contrast media (CM) are unsuitable for certain patients with impaired renal function. Herein, we describe two limited BM cases not amenable to CM, which were treated with five-fraction (fr) SRS, without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), through a target definition based on non-CE-MRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn single-fraction (sf) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases (BM) from lung adenocarcinoma (LAC), a marginal dose of ≥22-24 Gy is generally deemed desirable for achieving long-term local tumor control, whereas symptomatic brain radionecrosis significantly increases when the surrounding brain volume receiving ≥12 Gy (V) exceeds >5-10 cm, especially in a deep location. Here, we describe a 75-year-old male with a single LAC-BM of 20 mm in diameter, with a deep eloquent location, which was treated with sfSRS followed by erlotinib, resulting in sustained local complete remission (CR) with minimal adverse radiation effect at nearly five years after sfSRS. The LAC harbored epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain metastases (BMs) from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have the tendency of slow and insufficient tumor shrinkage along with prolongation of massive peritumoral edema following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Herein, we describe a case of large lobar RCC-BM, with possible intra-sulcal location, treated with 7-fraction (fr) SRS without subsequent anti-cancer medication, which resulted in gradual and remarkable tumor shrinkage with extrication from the mass effect. A 59-year-old woman was incidentally diagnosed with bilateral RCC associated with multiple lung metastases and subsequently presented with symptomatic single BM of 32 mm in the maximum diameter (9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction Single or multi-fraction (mf) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an indispensable treatment option for brain metastases (BMs). The integration of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) into linac-based SRS is expected to further enhance efficacy and safety and to expand the indications for the challenging type of BMs. However, the optimal treatment design and relevant optimization method for volumetric modulated arc-based radiosurgery (VMARS) remain unestablished with substantial inter-institutional differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDynamic conformal arcs (DCA) are a widely used technique for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of brain metastases (BM) using a micro-multileaf collimator (mMLC), while the planning design and method considerably vary among institutions. In the usual forward planning of DCA, the steepness of the dose gradient outside and inside the gross tumor volume (GTV) boundary is simply defined by the leaf margin (LM) setting to the target volume edge. The dose fall-off outside the small GTV tends to be excessively precipitous, especially with an MLC of 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with >5 fractions (fr) has been increasingly adopted to improve local control and safety for brain metastases (BM) of >10 cm, given the limited brain tolerance of SRS with ≤5 fr. However, the optimal indication and treatment design, including the prescribed dose and distribution for 10 fr SRS, remains uncertain. A single fr of 24 Gy provides approximately 95% of the one-year local tumor control probability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with >5 fraction (fr) has been increasingly adopted for brain metastases (BMs), given the current awareness of limited brain tolerance for ≤5 fr. The target volume/configuration change and/or deviation within the cranium during fractionated SRS can be unpredictable and critical uncertainties affecting treatment accuracy, plus the effect of these events on the long-term outcome remains uncertain. Herein, we describe a case of two challenging BMs treated by 10 fr SRS with a unique dose-gradient optimization strategy, in which the large cystic tumor revealed an intriguing correlation of such inter-fractional change with late radiographic sequela, suggesting a dose threshold for attaining long-term local tumor control and being immune to symptomatic brain necrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Given its high spatial resolution and vasculature selectivity, the cone-beam computed tomography (CT) angiography (CBCTA) image acquired by selective 3D rotational angiography (3DRA) is the most suitable 3D image for the target definition of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs). Furthermore, the relatively low temporal resolution of 3DRA-based CBCTA can be complemented by the stereotactic co-registration of orthogonally paired 2D dynamic digital subtraction angiography (2D-DSA). The integration of 2D-DSA, which is usually limited to one or a few frames for each projection, into CBCTA and/or planning CT can be achieved only by catheter-directed angiography on the day of SRS via a dedicated image localizer under rigid frame fixation to the skull, which imposes substantial burdens on patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 77-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of cough, pharyngeal discomfort, and weight loss. Chest radiography revealed a mass shadow in the right upper lung field. Bronchoscopy showed multiple white nodules along the tracheal cartilage ring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Several factors, including the surrounding brain volume receiving specific doses, have hitherto been reported to correlate with brain radionecrosis (BR) after single or fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (sSRS or fSRS) for brain metastases (BMs); however, those, especially for fSRS, have not yet been fully elucidated. Furthermore, the clinical outcome data of patients with BM treated with SRS using Vero4DRT are extremely limited. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate the incidence of BR requiring intervention (BRRI) and its highly correlated factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Eccrine spiradenocarcinoma (SC), also known as malignant eccrine spiradenoma, is a rare malignant cutaneous adnexal neoplasm arising from long-standing benign eccrine spiradenoma. Malignant skin tumors rarely show direct intracranial invasion. However, once the intracranial structure is infiltrated, curative excision with sufficient margins can become extremely difficult, particularly when the venous sinuses are involved.
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