Carbon‐ion radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy for head and neck mucosal melanoma: Prospective observational study

• Published in: Cancer medicine (Malden, MA) Vol. 8; no. 17; pp. 7227 - 7235
• Main Authors: Takayasu, Yukihiro, Kubo, Nobuteru, Shino, Masato, Nikkuni, Osamu, Ida, Shota, Musha, Atsushi, Takahashi, Katsumasa, Hirato, Junko, Shirai, Katsuyuki, Saitoh, Jun‐ichi, Yokoo, Satoshi, Chikamatsu, Kazuaki, Ohno, Tatsuya, Nakano, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-12-2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Cancer therapies; Carbon; Chemoradiotherapy - methods; Chemotherapy; Clinical Cancer Research; Clinical trials; Dacarbazine; Dose Fractionation, Radiation; Female; Head & neck cancer; Head and neck; head and neck neoplasm; Head and Neck Neoplasms - mortality; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; Heavy Ion Radiotherapy - methods; Hospitals; Humans; Immunotherapy; Leukopenia; Male; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Melanoma - mortality; Melanoma - pathology; Melanoma - therapy; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Mucosa; Mucositis; Mucous Membrane - pathology; Observational studies; Original Research; Patients; Progression-Free Survival; Prospective Studies; Radiation therapy; radiotherapy; Survival; Survival Rate; Tumors; Vincristine; Working groups; Young Adult; Japan; radiotherapy; melanoma; head and neck neoplasm; chemotherapy; survival
• ISSN: 2045-7634; 2045-7634
• DOI: 10.1002/cam4.2614

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of carbon‐ion radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy using dacarbazine, nimustine, and vincristine (DAV therapy) in mucosal melanoma. Twenty‐one patients with clinically localized mucosal melanoma of the head and neck were enrolled. The primary endpoint was 3‐year overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included local control, progression‐free survival (PFS), and adverse event occurrence. Carbon‐ion radiotherapy with a dose of 57.6‐64.0 Gy (relative biological effectiveness) in 16 fractions was delivered concurrently with DAV therapy, and 2 cycles of adjuvant DAV therapy were administered every 6 weeks. The median follow‐up periods were 15.5 months for all patients, and 31.2 months for 12 surviving patients. All patients had locally advanced T4a or T4b disease in the rhino‐sinus area. In 16 patients (76.2%), 3 cycles of planned DAV therapy were completed. The 3‐year OS and PFS rates were 49.2% and 37.0% respectively. The 3‐year local control rate was 92.3%. Eleven patients (52%) developed distant metastasis, which was the most frequent pattern of the first failure. Commonly presenting acute grade 2‐3 toxicities associated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy were mucositis (11 patients [53%]) and leukopenia (9 patients [43%]), which improved with conservative therapy. None of the patients developed grade 3 or greater late toxicities. Carbon‐ion radiotherapy in combination with DAV therapy led to excellent local control for advanced mucosal melanoma within acceptable toxicities. The efficacy of additional DAV therapy in improving survival was weaker than expected as distant metastases still occurred frequently. Trial registration no. UMIN000007939.
It is the first prospective trial to evaluate the clinical outcomes of carbon‐ion radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy.