University of Cincinnati Cancer Center members present radiation oncology research at national conference

(Press-News.org) University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers will present abstracts at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 in San Francisco.

Study evaluates safety, efficacy of head and neck proton re-irradiation

Patients with head and neck malignancies face a high risk of disease recurrence and the development of secondary primary cancers. While surgery is the preferred treatment in these cases, it is not always feasible based on tumor location or prior treatments.

An additional course of proton radiation therapy called re-irradiation can be effective, but few studies have examined long-term toxicity and survival for the patient population undergoing proton re-irradiation.

Taylor MacDonald, DO, and colleagues reviewed 84 cases of head and neck proton re-irradiation at the Cancer Center. More than 63% of patients had additional disease progression within four months of the treatment, with a one-year overall survival rate of 33%.

“With no true standard of care for these recurrent patients, it is helpful to have proton therapy to offer as an option for local control and therapy,” said MacDonald, chief resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology in UC’s College of Medicine. “We have almost 10 years of experience now with these cases and have been able to show our outcome data corresponds well to the other limited published data in this space.”

MacDonald noted patients had high rates of Grade 3 toxicities following treatment but overall manageable rates of severe side effects.

“This highlights the importance of patient selection for re-irradiation in these recurrent head and neck cases,” she said.

Moving forward, the team continues to examine factors that affect toxicity rates in patients to better understand how to improve safety and side effect profiles for patients. 

“We are particularly interested in looking at base-of-skull recurrences, since these patients are very specifically treated with protons and do not have long-term data in the photon realm,” MacDonald said. 

MacDonald will present “Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Proton Reirradiation in Head and Neck Cancers: Institutional Outcomes and Toxicity Profile Analysis” Sept. 29 at 1:45 p.m. Eastern time. 

Survey finds significant variation in oropharyngeal cancer treatment approaches

The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with and nearly 13,000 Americans will die of oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer this year, but there is currently no generally accepted standard course of treatment for the disease.

To better inform future clinical trial design, Morgan Bailey and colleagues conducted a survey of expert head and neck radiation oncologists to better understand practice patterns.

“There is significant variation and lack of consensus in treatment patterns for oropharyngeal cancers among radiation oncologists across various institutions,” said Bailey, MD, a resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology in UC’s College of Medicine. “Given that head and neck radiation oncologists often reside at specialized academic centers, these results have implications for both resident training and patient outcomes.”

Bailey will present “Variance in Practice Patterns among Radiation Oncologists Treating Oropharyngeal Cancers” Sept. 30 at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time. The abstract will also be included in a head and neck cancer scientific highlights presentation Sept. 28 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Other coauthors include Hope Esslinger and Vinita Takiar. 

Study: Severe toxicity rare following liver cancer ablative radiation

Hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, is a challenging disease to treat due to a high rate of recurrence within the liver.

First author Sarah Feldkamp, MD, and colleagues examined how ablative radiation — high-dose, highly targeted radiation designed to destroy tumor cells — affects the liver’s function when used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma.

“Severe hepatobiliary toxicity is rare following radiation for centrally located hepatocellular carcinoma despite high doses to the central hepatobiliary tree,” said Feldkamp, a resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology in UC’s College of Medicine.

Moving forward, the team plans to dig further into potential differences in toxicity between different ablative radiation treatment plans.

“Demonstrating the safety of ablative radiation, even in tumors located next to important, radiosensitive structures, is important,” Feldkamp said.

Feldkamp will present “Hepatobiliary Toxicity Following Ablative Radiation for Centrally Located Hepatocellular Carcinoma” Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. Other coauthors include Jordan Kharofa, Kyle Wang and Bailey Nelson.

Research compares patient- and clinician-reported toxicities for hypofractionated radiation to treat endometrial cancer

Hypofractionated radiation therapy is a treatment approach that shortens the overall duration of the treatment course by delivering fewer treatments at a higher dose of radiation per treatment. It has become a standard of care for radiation therapy treating breast and prostate cancer, and a novel Phase 1 trial is currently testing hypofractionated whole pelvis radiation to treat endometrial cancer.

Cancer Center researchers, including first author Feldkamp, examined patient-reported and clinician-assessed toxicity rates following hypofractionated whole pelvis radiation for patients with endometrial cancer.

“The rate of patient-reported toxicities events from treatment was higher than that of clinician-assessed toxicity but did not coincide with worse quality of life scores,” Feldkamp said. “We hope that the incorporation of patient-reported outcomes will be utilized in further dose-limiting toxicity trials. Physician assessment of adverse treatment effects does not fully capture the patient experience.”

Feldkamp said if found to be safe and effective for patients with endometrial cancer, hypofractionated treatment could provide shorter and more convenient treatment for patients. 

Feldkamp will present “Novel Phase 1 Study of Hypofractionated Whole Pelvis Radiation in Endometrial Cancer: Patient Reported and Clinician-Assessed Toxicity” Sept. 29 at 8:05 p.m. Eastern time. Other coauthors include Teresa Meier, Bailey Nelson, Sarah Sittenfeld, Nolan Wages, Caroline Billingsley, Thomas Herzog, Amanda Jackson and Leeya Pinder.

Other Cancer Center abstracts presented at ASTRO 2025 include:

Jessica Ortega, MD, presenting "Radiation Necrosis, Pseudoprogression, and Enhancing Radiologic Changes after Photon or Proton Chemoradiotherapy for Grade 2-3 IDHmt Gliomas" Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. Eastern. END