PURPOSE Precision medicine has revolutionized oncology; however, tumor biomarkers are not reflective of the heterogeneous cancer population. We evaluated NRG Oncology prostate cancer (PCa) clinical trials for demographic differences among patients with optional biospecimen collection (BC) consent and biospecimen submission (BSub). METHODS Data from 19 NRG PCa clinical trials closed before 2015 were analyzed. Patients who consented to BC and completed BSub were evaluated by race, ethnicity, median income, area deprivation index (ADI; categorized as highest v lowest three quartiles), age at enrollment, site, and year of enrollment. T/chi-square tests were used for continuous/categorical variables, respectively, followed by logistic regression. RESULTS Of the 15,648 randomized patients eligible for BC, 11,796 (75%) had specimens submitted. In all, 4,598 (82.2%) of 5,597 eligible patients consented for optional BC in nine clinical trials with a separate BC consent process (consent rates by race/ethnicity: 74.1% Black, 72.8% Hispanic/Latino, 83.8% White). A smaller proportion of Black and Hispanic/Latino patients consented to optional BC compared with those who did not (12.1% v 19.5% Black, P < .0001; 3.5% v 5.8% Hispanic, P = .0006). In univariable logistic regression models, high ADI (more socioeconomic disadvantage) was associated with a decreased likelihood for optional BC consent (odds ratio [OR], 0.67 [95% CI, 0.55 to 0.82]; P = .02), but not a decreased likelihood for BSub (OR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.53 to 1.04]; P = .08). Multivariable models demonstrated that Black/Hispanic/Latino patients were less likely to consent to optional BC, and Black patients were less likely to have BSub ( P < .05 for all). CONCLUSION White/non-Hispanic patients and those with less socioeconomic disadvantage were more likely to consent to optional BC, whereas Black patients were less likely to have BSub. Targeted solutions are needed to improve biorepository representation so that precision medicine approaches better reflect the cancer population.
Optimal Duration of Androgen Deprivation Therapy With Definitive Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer
Importance The ideal duration of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for treating localized prostate cancer is unknown due to variable adherence and treatment durations tested in clinical trials. Objective To determine the ideal duration of ADT for patients with prostate cancer treated with radiotherapy. Data Sources This individual patient data meta-analysis of 13 randomized phase 3 clinical trials evaluated the use of radiotherapy alone or with ADT. It included patients with a median follow-up of 11.3 (IQR, 9.5-14.5) years and ADT duration of 0 to 36 months. Most patients (7392 [72%]) included had National Comprehensive Cancer Network high-risk or very high-risk disease. Study Selection For this meta-analysis, a systematic literature search from 1980 to 2020 was performed in trial registries (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov), MEDLINE (1966-2020), Embase (1982-2020), Web of Science, and Scopus to identify trials. Data Extraction and Synthesis Intention-to-treat and as-treated analyses were performed. The number needed to treat to prevent 1 distant metastasis at 10 years was calculated based on prognostic risk group. The analyses were conducted from January 5 to August 15, 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point for this study was overall survival, defined as time to death or last follow-up from randomization. Secondary end points included biochemical recurrence, distant metastasis (DM), prostate cancer–specific mortality, and other-cause mortality. Results The median (IQR) age among the 10 266 male patients was 70 (65-74) years. Longer durations of ADT were associated with nonlinear improvement in relative benefits of DM, prostate cancer–specific mortality, and overall survival, with reduced estimated benefits beyond 9 to 12 months of ADT based on the end point. There was a near-linear increase in other-cause mortality associated with long-term ADT use (hazard ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.09-1.50; P = .002 for 28 vs 0 months of ADT). The optimal ADT duration based on 10-year DM was 0, 6, 12 months, and undefined for patients with 1 intermediate-risk factor, 2 or more intermediate-risk factors, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network high-risk and very high-risk disease, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance The results of this meta-analysis suggest that, for men with localized prostate cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy and ADT, there are relative and absolute benefits from increasing durations of ADT that help provide individualized risk estimates.
Prognostic Impact of Lymph Node Yield in a Phase III Clinical Trial (NRG/RTOG 9601) of Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Salvage Radiation Following Prostatectomy
ABSTRACTBackgroundWe aim to evaluate whether increased lymph node yield at prostatectomy (RP) is associated with improved outcomes in NRG/RTOG 9601, a randomized clinical trial of men who underwent either radiation (RT) alone or RT + bicalutamide for PSA elevation following RP for pT2/T3 prostate cancer.MethodsWe reviewed available pathology reports for patients in NRG/RTOG 9601 to determine the nodal count at RP. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess effect of lymph nodes yield, arm (RT alone or RT + bicalutamide), Gleason score, positive margins, and seminal vesicle invasion on the following endpoints: times to local and distant failure and overall and disease‐specific survival.ResultsOf 760 patients, 552 (73%, 276 in each arm) had complete data available. Median node count in the entire cohort was 6 (range: 0–33, IQR: 3–9). There were no significant differences between arms in terms of patient demographic or clinical characteristics, including total lymph nodes removed in either arm. There was no significant association between total lymph nodes and overall or disease‐specific survival with both arms combined and when adjusting for arm. Notably, interaction analysis revealed that in seminal vesicle invasion, there was a significant association between lymph node yield and OS and DSS (HR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.83–0.99, p = 0.034; HR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.77–0.99, p = 0.029, respectively).ConclusionsAlthough lymph node yield in NRG/RTOG 9601 did not show association with adverse outcomes in the entire cohort or either arm alone, there was significant association between lymph node yield and adverse outcomes when seminal vesicle invasion was present. The therapeutic benefit of extensive lymph node dissection remains uncertain but could be more relevant in higher risk patients.
Long-Term Patient-Reported Bowel and Urinary Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy Versus Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer
Purpose: This study aimed to compare long-term patient-reported outcomes in bowel and urinary domains between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Patients with clinical T1–T2 prostate cancer receiving IMRT or IMPT at a tertiary cancer center from 2015–2018 were analyzed to determine the changes in the prospectively collected bowel function (BF), urinary irritative/obstructive symptoms (UO), and urinary incontinence (UI) domains of EPIC-26. The mean changes in EPIC-26 scores were evaluated from pretreatment to 24 months post-radiotherapy for each modality. A score change >50% of the baseline standard deviation was considered a clinically meaningful change. Results: A total of 82 patients treated with IMRT (52.2%) and 56 patients treated with IMPT (53.3%) completed the questionnaire at baseline and 24 months post-RT. There were no baseline differences in domain scores between treatment modalities. At 24 months post-radiotherapy, there was a significant and clinically meaningful decline in the BF mean score in the IMRT cohort (−4.52 (range −50, 29.17), p = 0.003), whereas the decline in BF score did not reach clinical relevance or significance (−1.88 (range −37.5, 50), p = 0.046) when accounting for the Bonferroni adjustment in the IMPT cohort. A higher proportion of patients treated with IMRT had a clinically relevant reduction in BF when compared with IMPT (47.37% vs. 25.93%, p = 0.017). The mean changes in the UI and UO scores of the IMRT and IMPT cohorts were neither statically significant nor clinically relevant. Conclusions: IMPT leads to a smaller decrease in BF than IMRT at 24 months post-RT, while there was no differential effect on UO and UI.
PSA dynamics: Enhancing predictive models in prostate cancer follow-up.
424 Background: Advances in prostate cancer (PC) care have led to a 98% 10-year survival rate. Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is the primary method of follow-up after definitive radiotherapy (RT), with benign PSA ‘bounce’ occurring in up to 30% of patients, causing uncertainty and anxiety. Distinguishing between PSA bounce and biochemical recurrence (BCR) remains challenging. The Phoenix Criteria is the standard definition of BCR since 2006, defined as PSA nadir + 2 ng/dl, but does not consider patient specific information. Our study aims to explore factors associated with bounce and BCR and develop a predictive tool to differentiate between these two events. Methods: PC patients who received RT at our institution between 2006 and 2022 were identified, including only patients with a PSA increase during follow-up. Exclusion criteria included palliative RT, prostatectomy, or insufficient follow-up information. Patients’ clinical data was collected, and PSA increase was classified as bounce or BCR. Variables were compared using Kruskal Wallis or Chi-square. Multivariate logistic regression was performed in the subset of patients with absolute PSA value >2 (n= 581). Results: Of 1783 patients reviewed due to PSA rise after treatment, 694 met the inclusion criteria. There were 213 (30.7%) with PSA bounce and 481 (69.3%) with recurrence. Prior to meeting the Phoenix Criteria, 20 (4.2%) had biopsy-proven recurrence and 18 (3.7%) imaging-proven recurrence. The median delta PSA was 0.8 ng/mL for bounce vs 5 ng/mL for recurrence (p<0.001). The median time from treatment to event was 14.4 months for bounce vs 45.3 months for BCR (p<0.001). Recurrence was significantly associated (p<0.001) with older age at diagnosis, N1 stage, higher risk category, Gleason score, and higher baseline PSA. In the subgroup of patients without ADT, recurrence was associated with a lower median first PSA post-RT (1.9 vs. 2.4, p=0.046) and a lower median nadir before event (0.6 vs. 1.8, p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression achieved an accuracy of 0.94, with a sensitivity of 0.83, specificity of 0.98, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97. Conclusions: Our results highlight significant differences in clinical factors between bounce and recurrence in post-RT patients. The multivariate logistic regression differentiated the events with 94% accuracy for patients with a rising PSA value >2 subgroup. We highlight the possible improvement that could be accomplished by personalizing a PSA threshold for recurrence versus the Phoenix definition. This tool offers patients and providers a highly specific tool to differentiate between PSA recurrence and bounce, and may reduce stress and unnecessary testing, or help diagnosis recurrence faster. Next steps include prospective validation of the model to assess the impact on clinical practice costs, patient experience, and cancer outcomes.
Long-Term Analysis of NRG Oncology RTOG 0415: A Randomized Phase III Noninferiority Study Comparing Two Fractionation Schedules in Patients With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
Clinical trials frequently include multiple end points that mature at different times. The initial report, typically based on the primary end point, may be published when key planned co-primary or secondary analyses are not yet available. Clinical Trial Updates provide an opportunity to disseminate additional results from studies, published in JCO or elsewhere, for which the primary end point has already been reported. NRG Oncology RTOG 0415 is a randomized phase III noninferiority (NI) clinical trial comparing conventional fractionation (73.8 Gy in 41 fractions) radiotherapy (C-RT) with hypofractionation (H-RT; 70 Gy in 28) in patients with low-risk prostate cancer. The study included 1,092 protocol-eligible patients initially reported in 2016 with a median follow-up of 5.8 years. Updated results with median follow-up of 12.8 years are now presented. The estimated 12-year disease-free survival (DFS) is 56.1% (95% CI, 51.5 to 60.5) for C-RT and 61.8% (95% CI, 57.2 to 66.0) for H-RT. The DFS hazard ratio (H-RT/C-RT) is 0.85 (95% CI, 0.71 to 1.03), confirming NI ( P < .001). Twelve-year cumulative incidence of biochemical failure (BF) was 17.0% (95% CI, 13.8 to 20.5) for C-RT and 9.9% (95% CI, 7.5 to 12.6) for H-RT. The HR (H-RT/C-RT) comparing biochemical recurrence between the two arms was 0.55 (95% CI, 0.39 to 0.78). Late grade ≥3 GI adverse event (AE) incidence is 3.2% (C-RT) versus 4.4% (H-RT), with relative risk (RR) for H-RT versus C-RT 1.39 (95% CI, 0.75 to 2.55). Late grade ≥3 genitourinary (GU) AE incidence is 3.4% (C-RT) versus 4.2% (H-RT), RR 1.26 (95% CI, 0.69 to 2.30). Long-term DFS is noninferior with H-RT compared with C-RT. BF is less with H-RT. No significant differences in late grade ≥3 GI/GU AEs were observed between assignments (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00331773 ).
Long-term results of radiation with or without anti-androgens (AAT) in patients receiving salvage prostate bed radiation therapy (sRT) post prostatectomy.
320 Background: sRT is used in men with prostate cancer (PC) recurrence following radical prostatectomy (RP) signaled by a persistent or delayed elevation in PSA. It was previously reported that the use of AAT with RT improved cancer control and overall survival (OS). Long-term follow-up (FU) results are presented here. Methods: From 1998to 2003, 760 eligible post-RP patients with Stage pT3N0 or with pT2N0 and positive margins and PSA from 0.2 to 4.0 ng/mL were randomly assigned on a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of RT + placebo vs. RT + anti-androgen therapy (AAT) (24 months of bicalutamide, 150mg daily) during and after RT (64.8 Gy in 36 fractions prostate bed). The primary endpoint was OS estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Time to PC death and metastatic PC (competing risk of death without an event) was estimated using cumulative incidence. The hazard ratio (HR) was obtained using Cox models (OS) and subdistribution HRs (sHRs) used the Fine-Gray model (time to PC death and metastatic PC). All tests are one-sided based on study design. Results: Median FU for surviving patients was 19 years. OS at 18 years was 53% [95% confidence interval (CI): 47-58%] for RT + AAT and 43% [95% CI: 38-48%] for RT + placebo (adjusted HR 0.82 [95% CI: 0.67-1.00], p = 0.025). The 18-year incidence of centrally reviewed PC deaths were 18% [95% CI: 14-22%] RT + AAT and 28% [95% CI: 23-32%] RT + placebo (adjusted sHR = 0.57 [95% CI: 0.42-0.78], p<0.001). The 18-year incidence of metastatic PC was 22% [95% CI: 18-26%] and 31% [95% CI: 26-35%] for AAT and placebo arms respectively with adjusted sHR = 0.59 [95% CI: 0.44-0.80, p<0.001]. Subgroup analyses is shown in the Table. Conclusions: Long term results of 24-month duration AAT during and after sRT are consistent with the primary report with significantly improved long-term OS, reduced incidence of metastatic PC and PC death for RT+AAT. Statistically significant metastatic PC was noted for Gleason score 8-10, study entry PSA>1.5 and margin positive patients and borderline significance was observed in patients with study entry PSA 0.7-1.5. Clinical trial information: NCT00002874 . [Table: see text]
NRG-GU011: A phase II double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of prostate oligometastatic radiotherapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer (NRG PROMETHEAN).
TPS283 Background: There is no clear standard of care for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) with positron emission tomography (PET)-detected oligometastases and normal conventional imaging (CIM). Phase II trials show that stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) to oligometastases may delay cancer progression and initiation of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and its untoward effects. ADT with radiation prolongs survival in locally advanced PCa and in CIM metastatic PCa. However, there is a knowledge gap about timing and benefit vs toxicity of ADT with SABR in early oligometastatic PCa. NRG GU011 (PROMETHEAN) is a randomized phase II trial of SABR with or without relugolix for early PET-detected recurrent oligometastatic PCa. This study aims to evaluate the impact of relugolix, a novel oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist, when combined with SABR to oligometastases. Relugolix allows for rapid testosterone recovery and is associated with fewer cardiovascular events when compared to leuprolide and is hypothesized to have low late ADT toxicity. GU011 will provide patients and their physicians data on the relative risks and benefits of early or delayed ADT in this setting. Methods: NRG-GU011 NCT# 05053152 is a randomized phase II double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial with randomization to SABR + 6 months placebo vs SABR + 6 months relugolix. Eligible patients have biochemical recurrence after prior curative intent radiation or surgery for localized PCa, PSA < 10 ng/mL, negative CIM and 1-5 PET-evident metastases (≥1 extrapelvic). SABR is delivered in 1-5 fractions to BED >100 Gy1.5, followed by placebo or relugolix 120mg daily for 6 months. Patients will then be followed with imaging at time of biochemical recurrence. The planned sample size of 260 patients (130 per arm) will provide 85% power to detect a hazard ratio of 0.65 for radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS), based on a one-sided test at alpha 0.10. Planned enrollment is predicted at 8 patients per month with an estimated study completion date of late 2026. The primary endpoint is CIM rPFS. Secondary endpoints include PET-based rPFS, sexual and hormonal quality of life (QoL) assessed by EPIC-26, other QoL measures from EQ5D-5L, EORTC QLQ-30 and PROMIS Fatigue, and between-group comparisons of time to salvage therapy, castration-resistance, local progression (SABR-targeted lesion), biochemical progression, distant metastases, prostate cancer-specific mortality, metastasis-free survival, and overall survival. We also aim to determine adverse event rates for both treatment arms and evaluate genomic and blood markers of treatment response. This study opened in December 2021. Clinical trial information: NCT05053152 .
Sequencing of Androgen-Deprivation Therapy of Short Duration With Radiotherapy for Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer (SANDSTORM): A Pooled Analysis of 12 Randomized Trials
PURPOSE The sequencing of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with radiotherapy (RT) may affect outcomes for prostate cancer in an RT-field size-dependent manner. Herein, we investigate the impact of ADT sequencing for men receiving ADT with prostate-only RT (PORT) or whole-pelvis RT (WPRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Individual patient data from 12 randomized trials that included patients receiving neoadjuvant/concurrent or concurrent/adjuvant short-term ADT (4-6 months) with RT for localized disease were obtained from the Meta-Analysis of Randomized trials in Cancer of the Prostate consortium. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was performed with propensity scores derived from age, initial prostate-specific antigen, Gleason score, T stage, RT dose, and mid-trial enrollment year. Metastasis-free survival (primary end point) and overall survival (OS) were assessed by IPTW-adjusted Cox regression models, analyzed independently for men receiving PORT versus WPRT. IPTW-adjusted Fine and Gray competing risk models were built to evaluate distant metastasis (DM) and prostate cancer–specific mortality. RESULTS Overall, 7,409 patients were included (6,325 neoadjuvant/concurrent and 1,084 concurrent/adjuvant) with a median follow-up of 10.2 years (interquartile range, 7.2-14.9 years). A significant interaction between ADT sequencing and RT field size was observed for all end points ( P interaction < .02 for all) except OS. With PORT (n = 4,355), compared with neoadjuvant/concurrent ADT, concurrent/adjuvant ADT was associated with improved metastasis-free survival (10-year benefit 8.0%, hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.79; P < .0001), DM (subdistribution HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.82; P = .0046), prostate cancer–specific mortality (subdistribution HR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.54; P < .0001), and OS (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.83; P = .0001). However, in patients receiving WPRT (n = 3,049), no significant difference in any end point was observed in regard to ADT sequencing except for worse DM (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.05; P = .0009) with concurrent/adjuvant ADT. CONCLUSION ADT sequencing exhibits a significant impact on clinical outcomes with a significant interaction with field size. Concurrent/adjuvant ADT should be the standard of care where short-term ADT is indicated in combination with PORT.
A Phase II prospective study of hypofractionated proton therapy of prostate and pelvic lymph nodes: Acute effects on patient‐reported quality of life
AbstractBackgroundThe objective of this study was to report acute changes in patient‐reported quality of life (PRQOL) using the 26‐item Expanded Prostate Index Composite (EPIC‐26) questionnaire in a prospective study using hypofractionated intensity‐modulated proton beam therapy (H‐IMPT) targeting the prostate and the pelvic lymph nodes for high‐risk or unfavorable intermediate‐risk prostate cancer.MethodsFifty‐five patients were enrolled. H‐IMPT consisted of 45 GyE to the pelvic lymph nodes and 67.5 GyE to the prostate and seminal vesicles in 25 fractions. PRQOL was assessed with the urinary incontinence (UI), urinary irritative/obstructive symptoms (UO), and bowel function (BF) domains of EPIC‐26 questionnaire. Mean changes in domain scores were analyzed from pretreatment to the end of treatment and 3 months posttreatment. A clinically meaningful change (or minimum important change) was defined as a score change > 50% of the baseline standard deviation.ResultsThe mean scores of UO, UI, and BF at baseline were 84.6, 91.1, and 95.3, respectively. At the end of treatment, there were statistically significant and clinically meaningful declines in UO and BF scores (−13.5 and −2.3, respectively), while the decline in UI score was statistically significant but not clinically meaningful (−13.7). A clinically meaningful decline in UO, UI, and BF scores occurred in 53.5%, 22.7%, and 73.2% of the patients, respectively. At 3 months posttreatment, all three mean scores showed an improvement, with fewer patients having a clinically meaningful decline in UO, UI, and BF scores (18.4%, 20.5%, and 45.0%, respectively). There was no significant reduction in the mean UO and UI scores compared to baseline, although the mean BF score remained lower than baseline and the difference was clinically meaningful.ConclusionsUO, UI, and BF scores of PRQOL declined at the end of H‐IMPT. UO and UI scores showed improvement at 3 months posttreatment and were similar to the baseline scores. However, BF score remained lower at 3 months posttreatment with a clinically meaningful decline.