Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
PLoS Med. 2024 May 17;21(5):e1004408. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004408. eCollection 2024 May.
BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies have demonstrated that tumour cell death can be enhanced 10- to 40-fold when radiotherapy is combined with focussed ultrasound-stimulated microbubble (FUS-MB) treatment. The acoustic exposure of microbubbles (intravascular gas microspheres) within the target volume causes bubble cavitation, which induces perturbation of tumour vasculature and activates endothelial cell apoptotic pathways responsible for the ablative effect of stereotactic body radiotherapy. Subsequent irradiation of a microbubble-sensitised tumour causes rapid increased tumour death. The study here presents the mature safety and efficacy outcomes of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided FUS-MB (MRgFUS-MB) treatment, a radioenhancement therapy for breast cancer. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This prospective, single-center, single-arm Phase 1 clinical trial included patients with stages I-IV breast cancer with in situ tumours for whom breast or chest wall radiotherapy was deemed adequate by a multidisciplinary team (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04431674). Patients were excluded if they had contraindications for contrast-enhanced MR or microbubble administration. Patients underwent 2 to 3 MRgFUS-MB treatments throughout radiotherapy. An MR-coupled focussed ultrasound device operating at 800 kHz and 570 kPa peak negative pressure was used to sonicate intravenously administrated microbubbles within the MR-guided target volume. The primary outcome was acute toxicity per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5.0. Secondary outcomes were tumour response at 3 months and local control (LC). A total of 21 female patients presenting with 23 primary breast tumours were enrolled and allocated to intervention between August/2020 and November/2022. Three patients subsequently withdrew consent and, therefore, 18 patients with 20 tumours were included in the safety and LC analyses. Two patients died due to progressive metastatic disease before 3 months following treatment completion and were excluded from the tumour response analysis. The prescribed radiation doses were 20 Gy/5 fractions (40%, n = 8/20), 30 to 35 Gy/5 fractions (35%, n = 7/20), 30 to 40 Gy/10 fractions (15%, n = 3/20), and 66 Gy/33 fractions (10%, n = 2/20). The median follow-up was 9 months (range, 0.3 to 29). Radiation dermatitis was the most common acute toxicity (Grade 1 in 16/20, Grade 2 in 1/20, and Grade 3 in 2/20). One patient developed grade 1 allergic reaction possibly related to microbubbles administration. At 3 months, 18 tumours were evaluated for response: 9 exhibited complete response (50%, n = 9/18), 6 partial response (33%, n = 6/18), 2 stable disease (11%, n = 2/18), and 1 progressive disease (6%, n = 1/18). Further follow-up of responses indicated that the 6-, 12-, and 24-month LC rates were 94% (95% confidence interval [CI] [84%, 100%]), 88% (95% CI [75%, 100%]), and 76% (95% CI [54%, 100%]), respectively. The study's limitations include variable tumour sizes and dose fractionation regimens and the anticipated small sample size typical for a Phase 1 clinical trial. CONCLUSIONS: MRgFUS-MB is an innovative radioenhancement therapy associated with a safe profile, potentially promising responses, and durable LC. These results warrant validation in Phase 2 clinical trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04431674.
背景:临床前研究表明,当放射治疗与聚焦超声刺激微泡(FUS-MB)治疗联合使用时,肿瘤细胞死亡可增强 10 至 40 倍。靶区内微血管内(血管内气体微球)的声致空化会导致气泡空化,从而引起肿瘤血管的扰动,并激活内皮细胞凋亡途径,导致立体定向体放射治疗的消融作用。随后对微泡敏化的肿瘤进行照射会导致肿瘤迅速死亡增加。本研究介绍了磁共振(MR)引导的 FUS-MB(MRgFUS-MB)治疗的成熟安全性和疗效结果,这是一种乳腺癌的放射增强治疗。
方法和发现:这是一项前瞻性、单中心、单臂 1 期临床试验,纳入了 stage I-IV 期乳腺癌患者,其原位肿瘤经多学科团队评估认为需要接受乳房或胸壁放射治疗(clinicaltrials.gov 标识符:NCT04431674)。如果患者有对比增强磁共振或微泡给药的禁忌症,则排除在外。患者在整个放疗过程中接受 2 至 3 次 MRgFUS-MB 治疗。使用工作频率为 800 kHz 和 570 kPa 峰值负压的 MR 耦合聚焦超声设备,在 MR 引导的靶区内对静脉内给予的微泡进行超声处理。主要结局是根据不良事件通用术语标准(CTCAE)v5.0 评估的急性毒性。次要结局是 3 个月时的肿瘤反应和局部控制(LC)。共纳入 21 名女性患者,共 23 个原发性乳腺肿瘤,在 2020 年 8 月至 2022 年 11 月期间接受干预。3 名患者随后撤回同意,因此,20 个肿瘤中有 18 名患者纳入安全性和 LC 分析。2 名患者在治疗完成后 3 个月内因进展性转移性疾病死亡,被排除在肿瘤反应分析之外。规定的放射剂量为 20 Gy/5 次(40%,n=8/20)、30 至 35 Gy/5 次(35%,n=7/20)、30 至 40 Gy/10 次(15%,n=3/20)和 66 Gy/33 次(10%,n=2/20)。中位随访时间为 9 个月(范围,0.3 至 29)。放射性皮炎是最常见的急性毒性(20 例中 16 例为 1 级,20 例中 1 例为 2 级,20 例中 2 例为 3 级)。1 例患者发生可能与微泡给药有关的 1 级过敏反应。在 3 个月时,对 18 个肿瘤进行反应评估:9 个肿瘤完全缓解(50%,n=9/18),6 个部分缓解(33%,n=6/18),2 个稳定疾病(11%,n=2/18),1 个进展性疾病(6%,n=1/18)。对反应的进一步随访表明,6、12 和 24 个月的 LC 率分别为 94%(95%置信区间[CI] [84%,100%])、88%(95% CI [75%,100%])和 76%(95% CI [54%,100%])。该研究的局限性包括肿瘤大小和剂量分割方案的变化,以及 1 期临床试验中典型的预期小样本量。
结论:MRgFUS-MB 是一种创新的放射增强治疗方法,具有安全的特征,可能具有有希望的反应和持久的 LC。这些结果需要在 2 期临床试验中验证。
试验注册:clinicaltrials.gov,标识符 NCT04431674。
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