Purposes: This study aims to ascertain the prevalence of cavitations in pulmonary metastases among pediatric and young adult patients with sarcoma undergoing tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, and assess whether cavitation can predict clinical response and survival outcomes.
Methods: In a single-center retrospective analysis, we examined chest computed tomography (CT) scans of 17 patients (median age 16 years; age range: 4-25 years) with histopathologically confirmed bone (n = 10) or soft tissue (n = 7) sarcoma who underwent TKI treatment for lung metastases. The interval between TKI initiation and the onset of lung nodule cavitation and tumor regrowth were assessed. The combination of all imaging studies and clinical data served as the reference standard for clinical responses. Progression-free survival (PFS) was compared between patients with cavitating and solid nodules using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test.
Results: Five out of 17 patients (29%) exhibited cavitation of pulmonary nodules during TKI therapy. The median time from TKI initiation to the first observed cavitation was 79 days (range: 46-261 days). At the time of cavitation, all patients demonstrated stable disease. When the cavities began to fill with solid tumor, 60% (3/5) of patients exhibited progression in other pulmonary nodules. The median PFS for patients with cavitated pulmonary nodules after TKI treatment (6.7 months) was significantly longer compared to patients without cavitated nodules (3.8 months; log-rank p-value = .03).
Conclusions: Cavitation of metastatic pulmonary nodules in sarcoma patients undergoing TKI treatment is indicative of non-progressive disease, and significantly correlates with PFS.
Keywords: Sarcoma; cavity; computed tomography; pulmonary metastasis; treatment monitoring; tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
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