The role of radiation therapy in the palliation of metastatic genitourinary tract carcinomas. A study of the radiation therapy oncology group

The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group has conducted several randomized clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of various radiation therapy schedules in palliating symptomatic brain and bone metastases. Among the patients entered in these studies, there were 225 patients with primary tumors of the genitourinary tract. Of these, 68 patients had cerebral metastases and 157 patients had osseous metastases. These patients were analyzed further as to the effectiveness of radiotherapy in palliation of their symptoms, and the results were compared to those for comparable metastases in patients with other primary sites. Relief of symptoms occurred in 54% of neurologic function (NF) Class III and 28% of NF Class II patients with cerebral metastases. This result compared favorably with those for the total group of patients consisting of patients with brain and bone metastases from various primary sites. Improvement was seen in 80% of patients with headaches and 88% of patients with convulsions. Motor loss improved in 62% of the patients. Of the patients with bone metastases, 81% with prostatic carcinoma and 59% with renal primaries had lessening of pain. Complete relief of pain at eight weeks occurred in 36% of the patients, compared to 24% in the total group. The median survival for patients with solitary bone metastases from a prostatic primary was 39 weeks, compared to 30 weeks for those with multiple metastatic sites. Cancer 52:25-29, 1983.