Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is increasingly being used for the management of clinically localized prostate cancer. This trend, combined with the decline in the use of brachytherapy, has pushed issues and questions regarding the use of SBRT to the forefront. A systematic literature review was conducted to establish the current evidence of biochemical and toxicity outcomes of SBRT in high-risk prostate cancer.
Pediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma, also referred to as cavum carcinoma, is a rare pediatric disease with an infrequent incidence rate. We present the case of a pediatric patient with nasopharyngeal cancer who received an adult schedule of concomitant chemotherapy and conformal radiotherapy with a brachytherapy boost. Adult protocols with high radiotherapy doses are not commonly used in pediatric patients due to the high comorbidity associated with this practice. In this case, the patient displayed excellent overall survival, a longer disease-free period, and fewer side effects and comorbidities, even in the absence of interferon therapy, which is not easily available in low-income countries. In addition, this case shows that conformal radiotherapy and brachytherapy are options that can be used to escalate the radiotherapy dose and decrease side effects.A 12-year-old female pediatric patient presented to our outpatient clinic with an eight-month history of moderate-to-severe otalgia, intermittent hyaline rhinorrhea, asthenia, adynamia, nasal congestion, epistaxis in the previous months, and local pruritus. Upon physical examination, a 60x60 mm mass was detected at level II of the neck, and a biopsy of the lesion confirmed a histopathological diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma compatible with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The patient was considered to have clinical Stage III cancer, and she received an adult Al-Sarraf protocol with chemoradiotherapy and an intracavitary brachytherapy boost. The patient had a complete response, and she remains without local or distance relapse.Treating pediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with the Al-Sarraf protocol could be a feasible modality, as observed in this clinical case, despite the elevated cost of using interferon-beta in low-income countries when using more advanced radiotherapy techniques such as conformal radiotherapy and now, modulated intensity radiotherapy. It should be noted that brachytherapy boosts should be used with caution in pediatric patients; the potential side effects should be weighed against improved local control.
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for urologic oncology and radiotherapy. Radiation oncology departments and international collaboration groups are sharing their management adaptations made in response to the pandemic. The present narrative review summarizes the current recommendations.
Relevance: There is a need to define which patients are candidates for safe treatment delay until the pandemic is over or controlled, to reduce exposure to the virus in the healthcare personnel and patients.
Conclusions: Telemedicine is recommended for follow-up visits. Active surveillance is the preferred treatment for patients with favorable intermediate risk. In greater risk disease, hormone therapy safely postpones radiotherapy up to 7 months. Radiosurgery is suggested in centers that have the necessary technology and previous experience. A moderately hypofractionated regimen is recommended if radiosurgery/ultra-hypofractionation is not available. Hypofractionation should be implemented if image-guided radiation therapy is already in place. Countries with low and middle-income economies face challenges in adopting the recommendations for prostate cancer management during the pandemic. Postponing treatment may result in the overwhelming of radiation oncology center capacity, after the pandemic.
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