RTOG Finds Short-Course Radiotherapy Effective Treatment for
Painful Vertebral Bone Metastases
Philadelphia, PA - May 27, 2009 -A single high dose of radiotherapy is as effective in relieving the pain from vertebral bone metastases as ten smaller treatments according to new research from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) that will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Orlando on May 31, 2009. RTOG, an NCI-funded national clinical trials group, is a clinical research component of the American College of Radiology (ACR).
RTOG researchers previously reported that breast and prostate cancer patients with painful bone metastases who received a single radiotherapy treatment of 8 Gy had the same pain relief and narcotic use three months after treatment as patients who received ten radiotherapy treatments each consisting of 3 Gy for a total of 30 Gy. They also found that patients who received the 8 Gy regimen reported in fewer side effects, although those patients did have to be retreated more often than patients who received the higher dose.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of short course radiotherapy in patients with painful vertebral bone metastases the RTOG investigators examined a 235 patient subset of the 909 patients entered on the original study, RTOG 9714. The RTOG researchers found the short course to be equally effective as the longer course (8 Gy vs. 30 Gy) showing no statistically significant difference in pain relief [70% vs. 62%, p=0.59] or narcotic use [27% vs. 24%, p=0.76] at 3 months.
"It is exciting to confirm that we can provide the same amount of pain relief for patients suffering with vertebral bone metastases with only one visit to their radiation oncologist as we have been providing with ten visits," relates David D Howell, M.D., the lead author of the analysis from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. "With fewer side-effects and comparable pain relief, the single dose treatment is very much appreciated, especially for patients who have already completed one or more courses of treatment for their primary disease."
For more information or to arrange an interview with an RTOG spokesperson, please contact Sharon Hartson Stine at 609.458.5604, shartson@acr-arrs.org or visit RTOG at booth 219 in the Exhibit Hall.
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ASCO Abstract #9521, Randomized trial of short-course versus long-course radiotherapy for palliation of painful vertebral bone metastases: A retrospective analysis of RTOG 97-14, is available at http://www.abstract.asco.org/AbstView_65_31723.html
Information about RTOG is available at www.rtog.org.
In addition to Dr. Howell, authors include: J. James, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, Philadelphia, PA; W. F. Hartsell, Good Samaritan Cancer Center, Downers Grove, IL; M. Suntharalingam, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; M. Machtay, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA; J. H. Suh, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH; W. F. Demas, Akron City Hospital, Akron, OH; H. M. Sandler, Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, CA; L. A. Kachnic, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA; L. B. Berk, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL. The research was funded by National Cancer Institute grants CA21661 and CA37422.
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