Proton beam therapy for renal pelvis and ureter cancer: A report of 5 cases and a literature review

Standard treatment for localized renal pelvis and ureter cancer is surgery. Previously, the primary role of radiation therapy (RT) in cancer treatment was to control pain and hemostasis as palliative or as adjuvant therapy following surgery. In this report, we describe 5 patients with the disease treated with proton beam therapy (PBT) as curative treatment. Between September 2009 and July 2013, 5 males with renal pelvis (n=3) or ureter (n=2) cancer were treated by PBT with hypofractionated [72.6 Gy relative biological effectiveness (RBE)/22 fractions] or conventional [64–66 Gy (RBE)/32–33 fractions] fractionation. The median patient age was 72 years (range, 59–85 years). Three patients were deemed unfit for surgery. Local hypofractionated PBT was performed in 2 patients with T1-2N0M0 diseases, while prophylactic lymph node irradiation using a patch irradiation technique was performed for the remaining 3 patients, who had T3-4 disease. Two patients with T3-4 disease received chemotherapy prior to definitive PBT. No serious acute or late toxicities were observed in any patient. Local tumor control was achieved in 3 patients (60%); however, distant metastases were observed in 2 patients. Four of the five patients (80%) evaluated in the present study survived for >3 years. The data is limited; however, PBT appears to be a potential option for patients with renal pelvis or ureter cancer, especially for those who are unsuitable for radical surgery.