J Radiat Oncol (2013) 2:315–321DOI 10.1007/s13566-013-0111-x
Concurrent whole brain radiotherapy and short-coursechloroquine in patients with brain metastases: a pilot trial
Harriet B. Eldredge & Albert DeNittis &James B. DuHadaway & Michael Chernick &Richard Metz & George C. Prendergast
Received: 15 July 2013 / Accepted: 6 August 2013 / Published online: 16 August 2013
overall survival. Patients were stratified by IDO2 allelic
Objective The immune modulatory drug chloroquine (CQ)
has been demonstrated to enhance survival following radio-
Results After a median clinical follow-up of 5 months (range,
therapy in patients with high-grade glioma in a clinical trial,
0.5–31), 16 patients were evaluable for radiologic response
but the efficacy in patients with brain metastases is unknown.
which was complete response in two patients, partial response
We hypothesized that short-course CQ during whole brain
in 13 patients, and stable disease in one patient. There were no
radiotherapy (WBRT) would improve response to local ther-
treatment-related grade≥3 toxicities or treatment interruption
apy in patients with brain metastases.
due to toxicity. Median and mean overall survival was 5.7 and
Methods A prospective, single-cohort study was performed
8.9 months, respectively (range, 0.8–31). A trend toward
combining WBRT with concurrent CQ to assess both the
increased overall survival was observed in patients with
feasibility of and intracranial response to combined therapy
wild-type IDO2 compared to patients with heterozygous or
in patients with brain metastases. Safety, tolerability, and
homozygous configurations that ablate IDO2 enzyme activity
overall survival of this combination were also examined,
along with allelic status of IDO2 (indoleamine 2,3-
Conclusions WBRT with concurrent, short-course CQ is
dioxygenase 2), an immune modulatory enzyme inhibited by
well-tolerated in patients with brain metastases. The high
chloroquine that may affect survival outcomes. CQ therapy
intracranial disease control rate warrants additional study.
(250 mg by mouth daily) was initiated 1 week before WBRT(37.5 in 2.5 Gy daily fractions) in patients with newly diag-
Keywords Brain metastases . Chloroquine .
nosed brain metastases from biopsy-proven, primary lung,
Immunotherapy . Immunomodulation . Indoleamine
breast, or ovarian solid tumors (n =20). The primary endpoint
2,3-dioxygenase (Ido) . Non-small cell lung cancer (Nsclc) .
was radiologic response 3 months after combined CQ and
WBRT therapy. Secondary endpoints included toxicity and
H. B. Eldredge : A. DeNittisDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Lankenau Medical Center,
Brain metastases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality
in patients with cancer, affecting up to 200,000 patients a year
in the US alone [The majority of brain metastases originate
A. DeNittis J. B. DuHadaway M. ChernickG. C. Prendergast (*)
from common cancer-like lung (40–50 %), breast (15–25 %),
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, 100 Lancaster Avenue,
and melanoma (10 %). These lesions may occur synchronous-
ly with other sites of systemic metastasis(es), but they occur
frequently as the only site of disease in patients with excellent
performance status and systemic disease control [While
New Link Genetics Corporation, Ames, IA 50010, USA
patients with a single or limited number of brain metastasesmay benefit from neurosurgical resection or stereotactic ra-
diosurgery (SRS), many patients present with multiple, diffuse
Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia,PA 19107, USA
intracranial metastases that are not amenable to such therapies
due to tumor location, number of lesions, or comorbid
these genetic variations may therefore vary an individual’s
conditions] Thus, a viable option for the treatment of
ability to respond to drugs that target IDO2 since not all
many brain metastases patients, even those with poor perfor-
individuals express a fully active enzyme. CQ has been found
mance status, is whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) which
to be a potent and selective inhibitor of IDO2 (R.M.,
represents a standard of care ]. Given the prevalence of this
unpublished observations), prompting the notion that CQ
condition and its dismal prognosis, the treatment of brain
might enhanced the efficacy of WBRT in a manner associated
metastases should continue to evolve.
Regardless of treatment, the survival times of patients with
Based on the improved clinical outcomes reported with
brain metastases remain extremely poor with a median sur-
concurrent use of CQ and partial brain radiotherapy in some
vival of 3.4 months. The 6-month, 1-, and 2-year survival rates
patients with high-grade glioma [, we hypothesized
for these patents are 36, 12, and 4 %, respectively The
that CQ might potentiate the therapeutic effect of WBRT for
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) recursive
brain metastases. In this study, patients are stratified by IDO2
partitioning analysis (RPA) and the later updated Graded
genotype in the event that IDO2-inactivating SNPs blunt
Prognostic Assessment (GPA) have identified prognostic fac-
tors of patients with brain metastases to stratify the heteroge-nous population into prognostic classes. Using these criteria,patients with the most favorable prognostic factors still only
have a predicted median survival of 11 months Ulti-mately, 30–50 % of patients with brain metastases will die of
Patient selection After Institutional Review Board approval
their central nervous system disease [, , reinforcing the
of the protocol, all patients provided informed consent. Adult
urgent need for improved therapies to treat this condition.
patients with a histologically confirmed primary solid malig-
One way to potentially enhance standard WBRT would be
nancy and evidence of single or multiple brain metastases on
to use radiation sensitizers. Chloroquine (CQ) is a potential
contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) or magnetic
radiation sensitizer that has been employed for decades as an
resonance imaging (MRI) scans were eligible for this prospec-
antimalarial agent. Its clinical use has a well-established safety
tive study. Metastatic lesions were required to be less than
profile. CQ and its derivatives have gained interest in recent
5 cm in diameter, and radiographic findings could not be
years due to their ability to modulate inflammation, immune
consistent with leptomeningeal metastases. Patients were only
response, and sensitivity to cancer therapy. Most CQ-related
eligible to receive CQ after clearance from their physician that
studies have focused on its ability to block autophagy, a
the drug should not pose a medical problem to the patient.
cellular process that sustains cancer cell survival under thera-
Patients were excluded from the study if they had received
peutic stress. CQ has also been found to activate the p53
prior radiotherapy to the brain, were pregnant or nursing, or
pathway and induce apoptosis in glioma cells [Of partic-
had a history of hypotension, cardiomyopathy, epilepsy or
ular interest, a prospective, randomized, clinical trial evaluat-
seizure disorder, impaired renal function, psoriasis, porphyria,
ing low-dose CQ in the treatment of high-grade gliomas
or known hypersensitivity to 4-aminoquinoline compounds.
reported enhanced treatment response and improved overall
Patients were also excluded if, during the CQ treatment, they
survival (OS) with the addition of CQ to external beam
complained of any visual or auditory disturbances or suffered
radiotherapy and chemotherapy[, To date, CQ therapy
from severe acute gastrointestinal problems like vomiting,
has not been evaluated in patients receiving radiotherapy for
IDO2 is a tryptophan catabolic enzyme implicated in sup-
Radiotherapy WBRT was delivered with 6 to 10 MV photons
pressing T cell immunity in the tumor microenvironment
to a total dose of 37.5 Gy in 2.5 Gy once daily fractions over a
where its pharmacologic inhibition may potentiate cancer
course of 3 weeks. Each patient was treated in the supine
chemotherapy [–]. IDO2 is a relative of the better-
position while wearing a head immobilization mask to ensure
known enzyme IDO that is widely implicated in cancer pro-
that daily positioning was reproducible. Target volumes in-
gression through an ability to block T cell-mediated immune
cluded the entire cranial contents, with flashing beyond skin
surveillance by supporting the expansion of T regulatory cells
and a minimum margin of 0.75 cm on the skull-base as
and myeloid-derived suppressor cells []. While less
visualized on the simulator or portal films to account for beam
widely expressed than IDO, it is evident that IDO2 is
penumbra and day-to-day set-up variation. The ocular lens
expressed in brain ]. Remarkably, there is a wide variation
was shielded from the direct beam at all times using collima-
in IDO2 function in human populations based on the broad
tors. SRS boost after WBRT has been validated by random-
distribution of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
ized trials to improve local control in patients with 1–4 brain
in the coding region of the human IDO2 gene that reduce or
metastases and to improve survival in patients with a single
abolish its enzyme activity []. The broad distribution of
brain metastasis Patients were permitted to receive
SRS boost if posttreatment imaging revealed residual disease
of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum diame-
or if this therapy was recommended at the discretion of the
ters. Complete response (CR) was defined as complete reso-
lution or disappearance of target lesions. Stable disease (SD)occurred when the size of persistent lesions remained
Chloroquine therapy Chloroquine branded as Aralen (Sanofi-
unchanged, while progressive disease (PD) occurred when
Aventis U.S., Bridgewater, NJ) was used in this study. CQ
there was unequivocal progression of existing lesions or ap-
therapy began 1 week prior to initiation of WBRT and was
administered daily (250 mg/day) for a total of 5 weeks.
Secondary endpoints included toxicity scored according to
the National Cancer Institute Common Toxic Criteria for
IDO2 genotyping One week prior to WBRT, 5 mL of blood was
Adverse Events (CTCAE), cause of death, overall survival,
collected from each patient and stored for subsequent IDO2
interval to intracranial progression, and to correlate survival
genotyping. Standard methods were used to isolate genomic
times with IDO2 genotypes. Overall survival and interval to
DNA from blood cells, perform PCR, and define the DNA
intracranial progression were determined using the Kaplan–
sequence of the IDO2 SNPs as described The coding
Meier method. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed to
region SNP in exon 8 is rs10109853 (C/T encoding R248W
change) which attenuates the IDO2 enzyme activity ∼90 %in vitro ]. The coding region SNP in exon 10 is rs4503083(T/A encoding Y359Stop change) which truncates the IDO2enzyme, completely abolishing its catalytic activity
Patient monitoring Baseline clinical assessments were
Patient evaluation Twenty patients were enrolled in the study
performed for each patient prior to the start of WBRT and
between January 2009 and November 2011. The 20 evaluable
CQ combination therapy. Assessments included medical his-
patients consisted of 11 women and 9 men with a median age
tory, complete physical exam including neurologic examina-
of 64 years (range, 47–81). The patient and tumor character-
tion and mental status exam, complete blood count, and
istics are summarized in Table The median duration of
contrast-enhanced imaging of the brain. Most patients re-
WBRT treatment was 20 days (range, 19–23). The median
ceived contrast-enhanced MRI imaging of the brain, the pre-
clinical follow-up of all patients was 5 (range, 0.5–31)months
ferred imaging method; however, contrast-enhanced CT scans
were permitted for evaluation of metastatic disease in patients
Nineteen patients completed WBRT. One patient withdrew
who could not tolerate MRI or in whom MRI was contraindi-
after receiving 27.5 Gy of the 37.5 Gy prescribed due to
cated. Patients were assessed for toxicity and clinical response
intrathoracic disease progression of non-small cell lung cancer
by the radiation oncologist (A.D.) at weeks 1–3 of WBRT and
(NSCLC) and clinical deterioration. This patient did not ex-
at the 1- and 3-month follow-up and then every 3 months
perience a treatment-related adverse event. The remaining 19
thereafter until death. Brain imaging was also performed at 1-
patients did complete radiotherapy, and no patient suffered
and 3-month follow-up and then every 3 months thereafter
treatment interruption due to adverse effect or toxicity. Two
until death. Overall survival was calculated from the time of
patients received a stereotactic radiosurgery boost to a single
randomization into the study until death or April 1, 2013,
intracranial lesion following WBRT. No patient had neurosur-
whichever occurred first. Patients who were still alive were
gical resection of a metastasis prior to enrollment, and no
patient received cytotoxic chemotherapy during the courseof WBRT. Four patients did not receive any posttreatment
Endpoints and statistical analysis The primary endpoint was
brain imaging due to clinical demise or death and were not
intracranial radiologic response to treatment as determined by
included in radiologic response analysis.
brain metastases profile on contrast-enhance CT and MRI scans.
Intracranial tumor response to treatment was not assessed
Radiographic response and patient survival Contrast-en-
using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors
hanced brain MRI was performed after concurrent CQ and
(RECIST), which requires measurable target lesions to have
WBRT in 16 patients. The objective intracranial response rate
a minimum diameter of 10 mm ]. RECIST criteria was
3 months after WBRT included CR in 2 patients, PR in 13
inappropriate for the patient population recruited for this stud-
patients, and stable disease in 1 patient. This response rate
y, as many patients with BM have multiple, clinically signif-
corresponded to an objective clinical response of 93 % at
icant lesions that measure less than 10 mm in diameter. There-
3 months. Intracranial disease control rate was 100, 83, and
fore, target lesions acceptable for inclusion in this study had a
55 % at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Among the two
diameter of ≥4 mm. Partial response (PR) to therapy was
patients with CR, one patient had a single lesion while the
defined as 20 % or greater decrease in the sum of the diameters
other had three lesions and neither patient received an SRS
Table 1 Patient and cancer characteristics
two patients, bowel perforation in two patients, pulmonaryembolism in one patient, cardiac event in one patient, and due
to a second primary malignancy (pancreatic) in one patient.
Three patients died in hospice of unspecified causes, and eight
Treatment toxicity No patient suffered from observed CQ
toxicity or radiotherapy treatment interruptions. There were
no documented grade 3 or greater toxicities observed during
the course of WBRT treatment nor was there any evidence of
increased radiation skin reaction or CNS injury due to con-
current administration of CQ as noted in two case studies in
the literature []. Grade 1 radiation dermatitis was ob-
served in four patients (20 %), and grade 2 alopecia was
observed in eight patients (40 %). There were no detectable
neurocognitive defects or radiation necrosis. One serious ad-
verse event interpreted as unrelated to study treatment oc-
Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class
curred in a patient who developed respiratory failure due to
lung cancer progression and pulmonary infection.
IDO2 host genotype and correlation with clinical
outcomes Host IDO2 genotype for the SNPs in coding exons
8 and 10 were determined from blood-derived genomic DNA
prepared from patients Briefly, homozygosity or hetero-
zygosity of enzymatically ablative SNPs at each site were
detected in 14/20 patients recruited to the study, where the
IDO2 genotype implied reduced IDO2 activity in this cohort.
Conversely, 6/20 patients displayed wild-type alleles at each
SNP site, where the IDO2 genotype implied full IDO2 activ-
ity in this cohort. This relative proportion of allelic distribu-
tions approximately paralleled that seen in a larger disease-
free population that had been characterized previously ].
Median and mean OS for all patients was 5.7 and 8.9 months
(range, 0.8–31 months), respectively, from the time of enroll-
ment. A trend toward improved OS was observed for patients
with wild-type IDO2 (n =6) compared to patients with enzy-
matically ablative SNPs in either exon 8 or 10 (n =16) (10.4 vs.
4.1 months; p =0.07). Due to the high rates of radiologic
response, there was no appreciable difference in response be-tween patients with wild-type IDO2 compared with enzymat-ically ablative SNPs. Table summarizes the patient and tumor
boost. Among the 12 patients with a PR to combined therapy,
characteristics associated with SNP patterns. Due to small
there were 39 brain lesions total with the following responses:
patient numbers in this pilot trial, some prognostic factors were
11 lesions CR, 27 lesions PR, and 1 stable lesion. One patient
dissimilar among the two genotype groups.
with initial PR was able to achieve a CR following SRS boost. Intracranial progression was confirmed on follow-up imagingin two patients at a median of 7 months following completionof WBRT.
Kaplan–Meier estimates reveal a median overall survival of
5.7 (range, 0.8–31)months. At the time of analysis, two patients
This is the first prospective trial to report a combination of
were alive, one of whom had a survival time exceeding
WBRT and concurrent CQ for the treatment of brain metasta-
30 months. For each patient who died, an attempt was made
ses. The results demonstrated that this combination was well-
to determine the cause of death, which was respiratory failure in
tolerated with no observed treatment interruptions due to
Table 2 Patient stratification of prognostic factors to IDO2 genotype
endpoints of overall survival and cause of death propose aCQ treatment benefit since neurologic death secondary to
brain metastases was not observed. Additionally, the present
series demonstrated a median overall survival of 5.7 months
which compares slightly favorably to the RTOG recursive
partitioning analysis (RPA), which estimates a median surviv-
al of 4.2 months for patients in class II ]. This data also
compares favorably with the predicted median survival of 3.8
and 2.6 months for patients with scores of 1.5–2.5 or 0–1,
respectively, on the Graded Prognostic Index (GPI)—scores
Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class
that are representative of most patients in the current series [
Larger, randomized studies would be required to confirm the
ventured survival benefit from the addition of CQ to standardWBRT, but this data is encouraging. Additionally, it is impor-
tant to note that a primary goal of WBRT remains the im-
provement of local tumor control to provide palliation of
neurologic problems and prevent progression of symptoms.
Thus, improvement in survival may not be the only measure
of benefit of a local therapy like WBRT, as overall survival is
determined by extracranial disease and comorbid conditions
in addition to the presence of brain metastases Future
trials with CQ and WBRT should consider endpoints to mea-
+/+, wild-type configuration at exon 8 and exon 10 SNPs in the IDO2
sure quality of life, symptom relief, or neurologic progression.
gene derived from the patient host; +/p or p/p, heterozygosity or homo-
A variety of dose and radiation fractionation schedules
zygosity in either the exon 8 or the exon 10 SNPs in the IDO2 gene
have been tested in prospective, randomized trials in patients
derived from the patient host, both of which ablate the enzymatic activityof the IDO2 enzyme 10-fold or greater []
with multiple brain metastases, but none have improved effi-cacy or survival, to date –]. Since survival outcomeshave not been improved by dose escalation (including doses in
treatment-related toxicity. Two case studies have reported an
excess of 50 Gy), there has been interest in radiation sensi-
intensification of skin reactions with bullous eruptions and
tizers to potentiate the efficacy of WBRT. However, a variety
moist desquamation after concurrent treatment with CQ and
of agents have been tested with little, if any, effect on survival.
external beam radiotherapy but we did not observe
Some trials have even reported serious adverse effects
these toxicities in our trial. In contrast, the toxicity experi-
This situation may be changing with more recent
enced in this study was in agreement with that reported
promising reports of motexafin gadolinium and efaproxiral as
previously by Sotelo and colleagues from their prospective
radiosensitizers that can improve quality of life and survival in
trial of combined CQ and external beam radiotherapy for
breast cancer patients with brain metastases ]. Our
glioblastoma multiforme, where they reported no signs or
findings suggest CQ as another agent that might find use in
symptoms of retinopathy related to CQ toxicity nor any radi-
leveraging the efficacy of WBRT to some patients with lung
ation treatment breaks due to toxicity. These investigators
cancer or other cancers where brain metastases frequently
reported an increase in the incidence of seizure during treat-
ment or the clinical follow-up period in glioblastoma patients
CQ is an antimalarial agent that has been used safely in a
who received the combined therapy ]; however, we did
variety of clinical settings for decades. CQ exerts complex
not document any similar occurrence in any of the brain
pleiotropic effects that may enhance radiotherapy, for exam-
ple, by inhibiting DNA repair or blocking autophagic re-
Up to half of patients with brain metastases who receive
sponses that promote cancer cell survival under stress condi-
WBRT will die due to intracranial disease. In our study,
tions However, it is also clear that CQ exerts immu-
intracranial control rates were excellent—100 % at 3 months
nomodulatory effects that have been used for years to treat
with 93 % radiologic response. In addition, only two patients
certain autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis and systemic
developed intracranial progression at a median of 7 months
lupus erythematosus, and, more recently, to treat an increasing
which is clinically meaningful in a patient population with
number of other diseases including cancer In evaluating
the ability of CQ to improve outcomes in brain metastases
In addition to the excellent local control provided by com-
patients receiving WBRT, our work employed a relatively low
bined CQ and WBRT therapy, the data for the secondary
dose of CQ not expected to affect DNA repair or autophagy,
based on existing information [], but consistent with im-
mune modifier effects known to yield beneficial effects inautoimmune disease patients.
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autophagy for cancer treatment. Clin Cancer Res 17(4):654–666
DR HORACIO MARCELO WATMAN Born July 30th 1961 in Buenos Aires, Argentine. Nationality: Argentinian and Italian (dual nationality) City of residence and private practice : Registration : Médical College of Barcelona (Spain), number 38713 Specialist Psychiatrist Ministry of Health Argentine , number 73401 Specialist Psychiatrist Generl Medical Council UK : Full Regist
Door Els De Letter, Bart Vandekerkhove, Willy Lambert, Dirk Van Varenbergh en Michel Piette Een doorverwijzing naar een hospitaal of rust- en verzorgingstehuis (RVT) is meestal een geruststelling voor familie en vrienden. Toch gebeurt af en toe een onverwacht en accidenteel overlijden als gevolg van verpleegkundige handelingen en meer in het bijzonder het gebruik van bewegingsbeperkende maatr