Author/Editor		Spampinato, Sofia; Kibsgaard Jensen, Nina Boje; Pötter, Richard; Fokdal, Lars U.; Chagari, Cyrus; Lindegaard, Jacob Christian; Schmid, Maximilian; Sturdza, Alina; Jürgenliemk-Schulz, Ina Maria; Šegedin, Barbara
Title		Severity and persistency of late gastrointestinal morbidity in locally advanced cervical cancer
Type		članek
Vol. and No.		Letnik 112, št. 3
Publication year		2022
Volume		str. 681-693
ISSN		0360-3016 - International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
Language		eng
Abstract		he purpose was to evaluate patient- and treatment-related risk factors for physician-assessed and patient-reported gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms after radio(chemo)therapy and image guided adaptive brachytherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer. Methods and Materials Of 1416 patients from the EMBRACE-I study, 1199 and 1002 were prospectively evaluated using physician-assessed (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [CTCAE]) and patient-reported (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC]) GI symptoms, respectively. CTCAE severe grade (grade [G] s3) events were pooled according to the location in the GI tract (anus/rectum, sigmoid, and colon/small bowel). CTCAE G s2 and EORTC “very much” and “quite a bit” plus ”very much” scores (s ”quite a bit”) were analyzed for individual symptoms with Cox regression. Logistic regression was used for persistent G s1 and EORTC s “quite a bit” symptoms, defined if present in at least half of follow-ups. Results The incidence of G s3 events was 2.8%, 1.8%, and 2.3% for G s3 anus/rectum, sigmoid, and colon/small bowel events, respectively. Among G s2 symptoms, diarrhea and flatulence were the most prevalent (8.5% and 9.9%, respectively). Among patient-related factors, baseline morbidity, increasing age, smoking status, and low body mass index were associated with GI symptoms to varying degrees. Among treatment-related factors, rectum D2cm3 and the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements recto-vaginal reference point (ICRU RV-RP) correlated with G s3 anus/rectum events and moderate/persistent diarrhea, proctitis, bleeding, abdominal cramps, and difficulty in bowel control. Bowel D2cm3 correlated with G s3 sigmoid and colon/small bowel events and moderate/persistent diarrhea and flatulence. For external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), prescription dose correlated with G s3 anus/rectum, diarrhea, and difficulty in bowel control. Patients with large lymph-node boost (V57Gy) were at higher risk for G s3 sigmoid events, moderate/persistent diarrhea, proctitis, and cramps. Conclusions The analysis showed that both EBRT and image guided adaptive brachytherapy contribute to GI symptoms after locally advanced cervical cancer treatment. Rectum D2cm3, ICRU RV-RP , and bowel D2cm3 are risk factors for GI morbidity. The risk for various symptoms was lower with an EBRT prescription of 45 Gy than 50 Gy and increased with larger V57Gy.
Keywords		rak materničnega vratu slikovno vodena brahiterapija napredovali rak cervical cancer image guided brachytherapy advanced cancer