For the study, 544 patients received one cycle of chemotherapy (platinum/etoposide) prior to study registration and then were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to concurrent chemoradiation or concurrent chemoradiation plus atezolizumab intravenously every three weeks until investigator-assessed progression or intolerable adverse events (up to a maximum of 17 cycles). The researchers found that concurrent treatment of atezolizumab and chemoradiation did not improve survival rates compared with standard of care.
“If you give immunotherapy concurrently with chemoradiation, it does not yield the same survival benefit as when we add it after standard treatment. We also found that changing the way you deliver radiation by giving it twice daily improved survival rates compared to a once-daily approach,” Higgins said. “Radiation suppresses the immune system in the immediate sense, and immunotherapy relies on the immune system to be effective. Adding these drugs after you give radiation can make the immunotherapy more potent, but you have to allow the immune system time to recover to really see the two work well together.”
In the phase 3 Prostate Advanced Radiation Technologies Investigating Quality of Life study, Jason Efstathiou, M.D., Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues found that patients treated with contemporary radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer achieve excellent quality of life and highly effective tumor control, with no measurable differences seen between patients receiving proton beam therapy (PBT) and those receiving intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
The authors compared PBT and IMRT in a head-to-head study of patients with low- or intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer. Specifically, 450 patients were randomly assigned to PBT or IMRT, without hormonal therapy. The investigators found that patients with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer who were treated with either PBT or IMRT achieved equally high rates of tumor control, with no differences seen in patient-reported quality of life.
“We tested two contemporary, advanced forms of external beam radiation for a very common cancer, and we demonstrated that both are very safe, effective treatments that give patients excellent outcomes in terms of quality of life and cancer control,” Efstathiou said. “We can use either of these tools with comparably excellent outcomes.”
ASTRO: Many Patients Have Cognitive Recovery After Brain Radiotherapy
FRIDAY, Oct. 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Many patients with brain metastases who experience initial neurocognitive failure following brain radiation therapy demonstrate recovery, with greater rates of cognitive recovery for stereotactic radiosurgery, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, held from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 in Washington, D.C.
Eye Clinicians Identify Features of Vitreoretinal Lymphoma Presentation 
Comparable Progression Risk Seen With Ablation Versus Surgery for T1a Renal Cell Carcinoma 
Physicians Have Modestly Higher Likelihood of Dying at Home or Hospice 
New-Onset Mental Health Issue After Cancer Diagnosis Tied to Higher Risk for Death 
AI Chatbots Often Used by Teens for Mental Health Advice 
Outpatient Benzodiazepine Treatment Down in U.S. Adults From 2018 to 2022 
Mental Health Issues Peak Again More Than a Decade After Disasters 
Living in Closer Proximity to Nuclear Power Plants May Increase Cancer Mortality Risk 
