Do comorbidity influences acute toxicity and outcome in elderly patients with endometrial cancer treated by adjuvant radiotherapy plus brachytherapy?
OBJECTIVE
To correlate comorbidity and acute radiation toxicity in elderly patients treated with adjuvant external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) plus brachytherapy-high dose rate (HDR-BRT) for endometrial cancer (EC).


METHODS
Endometrial cancer patients over 65 were treated and evaluated for comorbidity assessment with ACE-27 and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). EBRT total dose was 45-50.4 Gy (1.8 Gy/day). The vault vagina boost of dose was performed by HDR-BRT with 2/3 fractions with a total dose of 10-15 Gy.


RESULTS
From 2008 to 2011, 35 patients were analyzed. Eighteen patients (51.43 %) had not ACE-27 comorbidity; while 27 patients (77.14 %) had CCI lower than three. During treatment, acute toxicity was mild and not influenced by the comorbidity score. Two-year Progression Free and Overall Survival were 69 and 80 %. ACE-27 and CCI did not affect progression-free survival (p = 0.51, p = 0.3) and OS (p = 0.26, p = 0.5).


CONCLUSIONS
External beam radiotherapy plus BRT-HDR are well tolerated in EC elderly with good performance status and low comorbidity profile.
Department of Radiation Oncology, IRCCS-CROB, Via S. Pio 1, 85028, Rionero in Vulture, PZ, Italy. albafiorentino@hotmail.it
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Fiorentino
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Chiumento
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Fusco
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015897:Comorbidity; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012189:Retrospective Studies