Aim:
To evaluate the local control, pain control and radiological response in patients with sternal metastases treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with Cyberknife using skin surface markers.
Methods:
Patients treated with SBRT for sternal metastases between 2017 and 2019 are retrospectively reviewed. The prescribed dose range from 24 – 35 Gy in 3 – 5 fractions. We analyze the radiological changes on different imaging modalities after SBRT and interpret the local control in correlation with clinical pain response.
Results:
This series include five patients with oligo-metastatic / progressive disease from different malignant pathologies. The median follow-up (FU) after SBRT was 12.6 months (range 6 – 24 months). Different changes on imaging modalities are reported, including sclerotic changes of lytic lesions on computer tomography (CT), signal alterations on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and altered FDG-activity on positron emission tomography (PET)-CT.
Conclusion:
SBRT to sternal metastases showed a satisfactory local control with minimal toxicity profile. The radiological changes are described here for a better understanding of response assessment after SBRT for non-spine bone metastases. Those changes should be interpreted carefully as they vary between different modalities and tumor types.