Background: The objective of this study is to determine the outcomes and toxicities of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).
Materials and methods: Data were extracted from an institutional tumor registry for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma and treated with SBRT. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were employed to determine local control (LC) and overall survival (OS).
Results: Forty-four patients with 59 total treated tumors from December 2006 to April 2022 were identified. Fifty-one (86.4 %) cases had oligoprogressive disease (five sites or less). The median prescription dose delivered was 3000 cGy in 5 fractions (range: 2700-6000 cGy in 3-8 fractions). Fifty-one (86.4 %) tumors were in the pleura, 4 (6.8 %) spine, 2 (3.4 %) bone, 1 (1.7 %) brain, and 1 (1.7 %) pancreas. The median follow-up from SBRT completion for those alive at last follow-up was 28 months (range: 14-52 months). The most common toxicities were fatigue (50.8 %), nausea (22.0 %), pain flare (15.3 %), esophagitis (6.8 %), dermatitis (6.8 %), and pneumonitis (5.1 %). There were no grade ≥ 3 acute or late toxicities. There were 2 (3.4 %) local failures, one of the pleura and another of the spine. One-year LC was 92.9 % (95 % CI: 74.6-98.2 %) for all lesions and 96.3 % (95 % CI: 76.5-99.5 %) for pleural tumors. One-year LC was 90.9 % (95 % CI: 68.1-97.6 %) for epithelioid tumors and 92.1 % (95 % CI: 72.1-98.0 %) for oligoprogressive tumors. One-year OS from time of SBRT completion was 36.4 % (95 % CI: 22.6-50.3 %). On multivariable analysis, KPS was the lone significant predictor for OS (p = 0.029).
Conclusions: Our single-institutional experience on patients with MPM suggests that SBRT is safe with a low toxicity profile and potentially achieve good local control.
Keywords: Local control; Oligoprogression; SBRT; Toxicity.
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