Background: Patients with human papillomavirus-positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) have substantially better treatment response and overall survival (OS) than patients with HPV-negative disease. Treatment options for HPV+ OPC can involve either a primary radiotherapy (RT) approach (± concomitant chemotherapy) or a primary surgical approach (± adjuvant radiation) with transoral surgery (TOS). These two treatment paradigms have different spectrums of toxicity. The goals of this study are to assess the OS of two de-escalation approaches (primary radiotherapy and primary TOS) compared to historical control, and to compare survival, toxicity and quality of life (QOL) profiles between the two approaches. Methods: This is a multicenter phase II study randomizing one hundred and forty patients with T1–2 N0–2 HPV+ OPC in a 1:1 ratio between de-escalated primary radiotherapy (60 Gy) ± concomitant chemotherapy and TOS ± de-escalated adjuvant radiotherapy (50–60 Gy based on risk factors). Patients will be stratified based on smoking status (< 10 vs. ≥ 10 pack-years). The primary endpoint is OS of each arm compared to historical control; we hypothesize that a 2-year OS of 85% or greater will be achieved. Secondary endpoints include progression free survival, QOL and toxicity. Discussion: This study will provide an assessment of two de-escalation approaches to the treatment of HPV+ OPC on oncologic outcomes, QOL and toxicity. Results will inform the design of future definitive phase III trials. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03210103. Date of registration: July 6, 2017, Current version: 1.3 on March 15, 2019.

Introduction: Management of recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) may include surgery, radioactive iodine (RAI), and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Systemic therapy may also be offered for RAI-refractory DTC. The study objective was to review patterns of practice in British Columbia (BC) for treatment of recurrent DTC, assess rates of RAI-refractory disease, and evaluate outcomes. Methods: BC Cancer provides cancer care to a population of 4.6 million. A retrospective review of all patients with DTC stage I-IVB disease referred to BC Cancer from 2009 to 2013 was conducted. Patient and DTC characteristics, locoregional and distant recurrence, surgical management, RAI, EBRT, and systemic therapy details were retrospectively collected. Relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results/Discussion: Some 1062 DTC patients were identified. Median follow-up was 4.1 years. Baseline characteristics: female 74%, median age 50, papillary/follicular/Hurthle cell 92%/6%/2%. Stage at presentation: I 60%, II 8%, III 22%, IVA/IVB 10%. Locoregional and/or distant recurrence occurred in 136 patients (13%). Locoregional recurrence (n=118) was treated with surgery +/- RAI or EBRT 48%, RAI +/- EBRT 40%, EBRT alone 1%, 11% were observed without treatment. Some 27 patients had a second cancer recurrence. Some 37 patients (3%) developed distant metastatic disease and common sites of distant metastases were: lung 76%, bone 30%, and liver 8%. Some 27 cases (2%) were deemed RAI-refractory. Some six patients (0.6%) received systemic therapy with a vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGF TKI). Five-year RFS was calculated to be 82%, OS 95%, and DSS 98% for the study population. Conclusions: In our population-based study cohort, 87% of patients were rendered disease-free by primary disease management. Multi-modality treatment of locoregional recurrence facilitated disease-free status in the majority of patients (67%). RAI-refractory disease developed in 2% of patients and despite a significant number of metastatic recurrences, only a small number of patients received systemic therapy.

Adjuvant durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard of care for unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A post hoc exploratory analysis of PACIFIC revealed no OS benefit in the PD-L1 < 1% subgroup. This retrospective analysis assesses the real-world impact of durvalumab on OS according to PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS). Patients with stage III, unresectable NSCLC treated by CRT, with available PD-L1 TPS, from 1 March 2018 to 31 December 2020, at BC Cancer, British Columbia, Canada were included. Patients were divided into two groups, CRT + durvalumab and CRT alone. OS and PFS were analyzed in the PD-L1 ≥ 1% and <1% subgroups. A total of 134 patients were included in the CRT + durvalumab group and 117, in the CRT alone group. Median OS was 35.9 months in the CRT + durvalumab group and 27.4 months in the CRT alone group [HR 0.59 (95% CI 0.42–0.83), p = 0.003]. Durvalumab improved OS in the PD-L1 ≥ 1% [HR 0.53 (95% CI 0.34–0.81), p = 0.003, n = 175], but not in the <1% subgroup [HR 0.79 (95% CI 0.44–1.42), p = 0.4, n = 76]. This retrospective study demonstrates a statistically significant improvement in OS associated with durvalumab after CRT in PD-L1 ≥ 1%, but not PD-L1 < 1% NSCLC. Variables not accounted for may have biased the survival analysis. A prospective study would bring more insight.

The standard of care for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is concurrent cisplatin chemoradiotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be administered to downsize tumors before concurrent treatment to optimize radiation volumes. Our hypothesis was that the use of cisplatin in the neoadjuvant phase could limit the amount of cisplatin that patients could tolerate in the concurrent phase of treatment. This is a retrospective analysis of Canadian NPC patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the intention to downsize locally advanced tumors prior to concurrent cisplatin plus radiation. Baseline demographic and treatment data were obtained from institutional databases and chart review; all data were analyzed with SPSS (SPSS Inc. Released 2005. SPSS for Windows, Version 14.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc.) Overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and local/regional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival functions. Univariate and multivariate models were used to determine factors associated with the total dose of concurrent chemotherapy. Forty-six patients were identified as receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy before concurrent chemoradiotherapy. In the univariate and multivariate analyses of patients who received concurrent chemotherapy, receiving over 200 mg/m² concurrent cisplatin with radiation was associated with a higher neoadjuvant dose of chemotherapy received. The median follow-up time was 2.6 years (range, 0.17 years to 10.6 years). At three years, the OS was 83%, DSS was 86%, and LRRFS was 74%. NPC patients have been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at this center with favorable outcomes. Most patients could tolerate concurrent chemotherapy after radiotherapy. Receiving higher doses of concurrent chemotherapy was associated with also having higher doses of neoadjuvant cisplatin. This suggests that neoadjuvant cisplatin is not a limiting factor in the delivery of full-dose concurrent chemotherapy.

Patients receiving palliative radiotherapy (PRT) often experience substantial symptom burden and may face challenges attending multiple hospital visits. Planning treatment using an existing diagnostic computed tomography (dCT) scan instead of a dedicated computed tomography (CT) simulation may improve access to timely care. This prospective feasibility study evaluated a dCT-based planning workflow using kilovoltage (kV) image verification for patients with bone metastases, with potential applicability to resource-limited settings. Ten patients receiving conventional PRT (8 Gy in 1 fraction or 20 Gy in 5 fractions) with an eligible dCT acquired within 28 days were enrolled. As part of this feasibility study, all patients also underwent standard CT simulation, which served as the dosimetric comparator and fallback treatment pathway. Radiotherapy plans generated on dCT and CT simulation scans were compared for dosimetric quality, while treatment deliverability, patient satisfaction, and estimated carbon emissions were assessed. Seven of ten patients were successfully treated using the dCT workflow. The three remaining patients were transitioned to standard CT simulation treatments due to an uncorrectable dCT image rotation in the planning software (n = 1), scheduling constraints (n = 1), and a larger-than-anticipated difference in patient separation on the treatment unit (n = 1). Target coverage and organ-at-risk doses were comparable between dCT and CT simulation plans, satisfaction among dCT-treated patients was high, and potential avoidance of CT simulation was estimated to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 10 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per patient. These findings demonstrate that dCT-based planning with kV image verification is feasible, provides dosimetry comparable to conventional CT simulation, and warrants further evaluation as a strategy to improve access to timely PRT while reducing healthcare resource use and environmental impact.