Endoscopic Evaluation of Late Rectal Injury Following CyberKnife Radiosurgery for Prostate Cancer

Radiation therapy is a well-established treatment modality for clinically localized prostate cancer. Current techniques include conventional external beam radiotherapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The efficacy of conventional external beam radiation treatment (60-70 Gy in 2 Gy fractions) using several uniform fields has been documented. The 10-year disease-free survival rate for patients with disease confined to the prostate in the pre-Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) era was approximately 50-70%. Analysis of these data suggested that dose escalation could improve local control in prostate cancer.

On average, men who choose to undergo radiation therapy treatments for prostate cancer will have to live with the side effects of therapy for many years. Chronic proctitis may occur after radiotherapy (RT) to the pelvic region. According to a published series, it clinically occurs after radiation therapy of localized prostate cancer at a frequency of 5-20%. It occurs months to years after treatment (average 8-12 months) with a large majority within two years following radiation therapy. Patient characteristics, such as a history of inflammatory bowel disease or chronic anticoagulation therapy, may increase an individual patient's risk of clinically significant proctitis. Patients with radiation-induced proctopathy have described symptoms of rectal pain, diarrhea, urgency, rectal bleeding, and increased frequency of bowel movements. Endoscopic evaluation shows telangiectasia, congested mucosa and ulcers. Rectal bleeding occurs from the neovascular telangiectasia seen in about 60% of patients receiving conventionally fractionated radiation therapy. The other symptoms probably develop from the decreased rectal compliance associated with rectal wall fibrosis. These symptoms are, in current reports, most often classified according to the NCI Common Toxicity Criteria grade for late gastrointestinal side effects. Due to the proximity of the rectum and bladder to the prostate, using conventional techniques, the prescription dose is limited to 65-70 Gy. Although attempts were made to protect the rectum, the incidence of rectal bleeding was unacceptable at doses greater than 70 Gy (20%).

The risk of proctitis and rectal bleeding appeared to be dependent upon both the radiation dose and the volume of the rectum in the high dose area. Radiation Oncologists' efforts to optimize the therapeutic ratio for prostate cancer treatment have therefore been directed toward limiting the high dose volume to the prostate while escalation the dose within that volume. Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a widely used technology to achieve this goal. It is accomplished by modulating the radiation beam intensity within each radiation field in accordance with an optimization algorithm. This has allowed greater dose-escalation without evident increase in acute complications, although follow-up is too short to fully assess control and complication rates. Whether IMRT will provide a degree of conformity that proves to eradicate prostate cancer with a high probability while sparing local structures is as yet unresolved.

Late Rectal Mucosal Injury Following CyberKnife RadioSurgery for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer. The type, extent and incidence of rectal mucosal injury following CyberKnife radiosurgery are currently unknown. The severity of clinical proctitis following radiation therapy is commonly documented using the NCI Common toxicity criteria/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/EORTC. Unfortunately, clinical proctitis has a low sensitivity for detecting rectal mucosal injury. Endoscopy gives the most accurate estimate of the extent and incidence of rectal mucosal injury. The Vienna rectoscopy score (VRS) was developed to quantify rectal mucosal changes following radiation therapy. In this study, endoscopic evaluation of mucosal damage from CyberKnife treatment will be documented and correlated with gastrointestinal side effects and treatment planning parameters.