SBRT and HDR brachytherapy produce lower PSA nadirs and different PSA decay patterns than conventionally fractionated IMRT in patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Amar U Kishan; Pin-Chieh Wang; Shrinivasa K Upadhyaya; Henrik Hauswald; D Jeffrey Demanes; Nicholas G Nickols; Mitchell Kamrava; Ahmad Sadeghi; Patrick A Kupelian; Michael L Steinberg; Nicolas D Prionas; Mark K Buyyounouski; Christopher R King

doi:10.1016/j.prro.2015.11.002

SBRT and HDR brachytherapy produce lower PSA nadirs and different PSA decay patterns than conventionally fractionated IMRT in patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Pract Radiat Oncol. 2016 Jul-Aug;6(4):268-275. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2015.11.002. Epub 2015 Nov 10.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
³ Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
⁴ Department of Radiation Oncology and Radiation Therapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
⁶ Department of Radiation Oncology, Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.
⁷ Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, California.

PMID: 26850649
DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2015.11.002

Abstract

Purpose: To compare patterns of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response following stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and conventionally fractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer (CaP).

Methods and materials: Eligible study patients included 439 patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer who were treated with radiation therapy (RT) alone between 2003 and 2013, remained free of biochemical recurrence, and had at least 2 PSA values within the first year following RT. Of these, 130 were treated with SBRT, 220 with HDR brachytherapy, and 89 with IMRT. Multivariate regression analysis was used to compare PSA nadirs (nPSA), time to nPSA, and PSA bounce parameters among the 3 modalities. Indicator variable analysis was used to develop empirical models of PSA decay using the treatment modalities as indicator variables.

Results: Significantly more patients treated with SBRT or HDR brachytherapy achieved raw nPSAs of <0.5 ng/mL compared with patients treated with IMRT (76.2% and 75.9% vs 44.9%, respectively; P < .0001 for SBRT or HDR brachytherapy vs IMRT). On multivariate analysis, nPSA was significantly lower with SBRT and HDR compared with IMRT (P < .0001). Time to nPSA and bounce parameters was not significantly different among IMRT, SBRT, and HDR. Overall, SBRT and HDR brachytherapy caused significantly larger PSA decay rates (P < .001). When truncating follow-up at 1000 days, the corresponding decay rates were larger for all 3 modalities, with no significant differences between them.

Conclusions: Stereotactic body radiation therapy and HDR brachytherapy produce lower nPSAs than IMRT. Within 1000 days of follow-up, the modalities produce similar rates of PSA decay; subsequently, decay continues (albeit at a slower pace) after SBRT and HDR brachytherapy but plateaus with IMRT. Because nPSA is a validated predictor of long-term outcome, these data not only suggest a distinct radiobiological effect with SBRT and HDR brachytherapy, but also predict for clinical outcomes that might equal or surpass those of IMRT.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Brachytherapy / methods*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prostate-Specific Antigen / metabolism*
Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
Prostatic Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / methods*

Substances

Prostate-Specific Antigen