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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Treatment of Liver Metastases Using an Internal Target Volume Method for Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy
Published on: May 8, 2018
A retrospective study of radiotherapy for spinal bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
Naoki Nakamura1, Hiroshi Igaki, Hideomi Yamashita
1Department of Radiology, Tokyo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. nnakamur-tky@umin.ac.jp
Objective:
To evaluate the therapeutic effects of radiotherapy on spinal bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods:
A retrospective review was conducted on 24 ambulatory patients with spinal bone metastases from HCC treated by radiotherapy from 1995 to 2004. Ambulatory rate and local progression-free rate after radiotherapy were analyzed. Eight (33%) of 24 patients had radiographic spinal cord compression from the spinal bone metastases before the treatment. Two (8.3%) of the 24 patients had some spinal deficits before the treatment. Biological equivalent dose (BED) with alpha/beta ratios of 10 ranged from 39 to 50.7 Gy (median 44.8 Gy).
Results:
The median observation period was 5.1 months ranging from 0.9 to 36.0 months. Among the 24 patients, five (21%) underwent salvage therapies, while of the remaining 19 patients four (21%) became nonambulatory by the last follow-up. The ambulatory rates at 3 months and 6 months were 85 and 63%, respectively. The local progression-free rates at 3 months and 6 months were 53 and 47%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Radiotherapy with a BED of 39-50.7 Gy (median 44.8 Gy) is not sufficiently effective for the patients with spinal bone metastases from HCC to prevent paralysis. Dose escalation with a highly precise radiation technique will need to be evaluated.