Effects of gold fiducial marker implantation on tumor control and toxicity in external beam radiotherapy of prostate cancer
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Jan 19, 2023
Page range: 95 - 102
Received: Jul 13, 2022
Accepted: Oct 26, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2023-0004
© 2023 Matthias Moll, Magdalena Weiß, Vladimir Stanisav, Alexandru Zaharie, Gregor Goldner, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Background
Evidence regarding the effects of fiducials in image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for tumor control and acute and late toxicity is sparse.
Patients and methods
Patients with primary low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, 40 with and 21 without gold fiducial markers (GFM), and treated between 2010 and 2015 were retrospectively included. The decision for or against GFM implantation took anaesthetic evaluation and patient choice into account. IGRT was performed using electronic portal imaging devices. The prescribed dose was 78 Gy, with 2 Gy per fraction. Biochemical no evidence of disease (bNED) failure was defined using the Phoenix criteria. Acute and late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary toxicity (GU) were assessed using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group criteria.
Results
Most patients did not receive GFM due to contraindications for anaesthesia or personal choice (60% and 25%). Regarding tumor control, no significant differences were found regarding bNED and overall and disease-specific survival (
Conclusions
We were unable to detect significant benefits in bNED or in early or late GI and GU side effects after GFM implantation.