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Updated: Jun 24, 2025
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Gynecologic Cancer
Published on: April 17, 2012
Single-fraction radiation retreatment for bone metastases: role of a rapid access clinic
Minsoo Kim1, Jose Alberto Maldonado1,2, Prasamsa Pandey1
1Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Objectives:
This study investigates retreatment rates in single-fraction radiation therapy (SFRT) for painful bone metastasis in patients with limited life expectancy. We compared retreatment-free survival (RFS) in patients from a rapid access bone metastases clinic (RABC) and non-RABC patients, identifying factors associated with retreatment.
Methods:
In this observational study, we analysed RABC patients who received SFRT between April 2018 and November 2019, using non-RABC SFRT patients as a comparison group. Patients with prior or perioperative radiation therapy (RT) were excluded. The primary endpoint was same-site and any-site retreatment with RT or surgery. Patient characteristics were compared using χ2 and Student's t-tests, with RFS estimates based on a multistate model considering death as a competing risk using Aalen-Johansen estimates.
Results:
We identified 151 patients (79 RABC, 72 non-RABC) with 225 treatments (102 RABC, 123 non-RABC) meeting eligibility criteria. Of the 22 (10.8%) same-site retreatments, 5 (22.7%) received surgery, 14 (63.6%) received RT and 3 (13.6%) received both RT and surgery. We found no significant differences in any-site RFS (p=0.97) or same-site RFS (p=0.11).
Conclusions:
RFS is high and similar comparable in the RABC and non-RABC cohorts. Retreatment rates are low, even in patients with low Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scores.
