Comprehensive analysis of Japanese nationwide cohort data of particle beam therapy for pulmonary, liver and lymph node oligometastases: particle beam therapy versus high-precision X-ray radiotherapy

Japanese national oncological experts convened to evaluate the efficacy and safety of particle beam therapy (PT) for pulmonary, liver and lymph node oligometastases (P-OM, L-OM and LN-OM, respectively) and to conduct a statistically comparative analysis of the local control (LC) rate and overall survival (OS) rate of PT versus those of X-ray stereotactic body radiotherapy (X-SBRT) and X-ray intensity-modulated radiotherapy (X-IMRT). They conducted [1] an analysis of the efficacy and safety of metastasis-directed therapy with PT for P-OM, L-OM and LN-OM using a Japanese nationwide multi-institutional cohort study data set; [2] a systematic review of X-ray high-precision radiotherapy (i.e. X-SBRT/X-IMRT) and PT for P-OM, L-OM and LN-OM; and [3] a statistical comparison between LC and OS of the cohort data set in PT and that of the extracted historical data set in X-SBRT/X-IMRT from the preceding systematic review. Safety was evaluated as the incidence of grade ≥ 3 adverse events, while statistical comparisons of LC and OS were conducted by estimating the incidence rate ratios (IRR) for local progression and mortality, respectively. This study demonstrated that PT provided durable LC (3-year LC rate: 72.8–83.2%) with acceptable OS (3-year OS rate: 38.5–68.1%) and risk of severe toxicity incidence of 0.8–3.5% in radical metastasis-directed therapy for P-OM, L-OM and LN-OM. Compared to LC with X-SBRT or X-IMRT, LC with PT was potentially superior for P-OM; superior for L-OM; and equivalent for LN-OM. In particular, this study demonstrated that PT may be a new treatment option for L-OM tumors measuring > 5 cm.