Background and purpose: RTOG 0933 is a phase II clinical trial of hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT) to prevent radiation-induced neurocognitive decline. By quantifying baseline incidence of perihippocampal or hippocampal metastasis, we sought to estimate the risk of developing metastases in the hippocampal avoidance region (the hippocampus plus 5mm margin).
Materials/methods: Patients with < or = 10 brain metastases treated at two separate institutions were reviewed. Axial images from pre-treatment, post-contrast MRIs were used to contour each metastasis and hippocampus according to a published protocol. Clinical and radiographic variables were correlated with perihippocampal metastasis using a binary logistical regression analysis, with two-sided p<0.05 for statistical significance.
Results: 1133 metastases were identified in 371 patients. Metastases within 5mm of the hippocampus were observed in 8.6% of patients (95% CI 5.7-11.5%) and 3.0% of brain metastases. None of the metastases lay within the hippocampus. A 1-cm(3) increase in the aggregate volume of intra-cranial metastatic disease was associated with an odds ratio of 1.02 (95% CI 1.006-1.034, p=0.003) for the presence of perihippocampal metastasis.
Conclusion: With an estimated perihippocampal metastasis risk of 8.6%, we deem HA-WBRT safe for clinical testing in patients with brain metastases as part of RTOG 0933.
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