Trial reportNeuro-oncology2023
Hippocampal avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) for small cell lung cancer reduces hippocampal atrophy compared to conventional PCI.
Trial report in Neuro-oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01780675 (Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation With or Without Hippocampal Avoidance in SCLC a Randomized Phase III Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation With or Without Hippocampal Avoidance in SCLC a Randomized Phase III Trial
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prophylactic cranial irradiation in resected early stage small cell lung cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Hippocampal avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) for small-cell lung cancer better preserves white matter networks compared to conventional PCI.Neuro-oncology · 2025Trial
- Radiation-Induced Neurodegeneration.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Hippocampal Atrophy Following Therapeutic Irradiation of Intracranial and Nasopharyngeal Tumors.Cureus · 2025Review
- Role of prophylactic cranial irradiation in patients with limited disease small cell lung cancer: A Danish single institution cohort.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2025Article
- National Trends in Radiation Treatment for Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases in the Modern Era.Advances in radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Review
- Evaluating the efficacy and safety of Anlotinib in conjunction with stereotactic radiosurgery for small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases.Oncology research · 2025Article
- Radiation-Induced Brain Injury: Mechanistic Insights and the Promise of Gut-Brain Axis Therapies.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Article
- Current dilemma and future directions over prophylactic cranial irradiation in SCLC: a systematic review in MRI and immunotherapy era.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Dosimetric comparison of helical tomotherapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy in hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2024Article
- Quality assurance and safety of hippocampal avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation in the multicenter randomized phase III trial (NCT01780675).Journal of the National Cancer Center · 2023Article
- Self-Reported Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in Patients With SCLC in the Hippocampal Avoidance Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation Versus Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation Randomized Phase 3 Trial (NCT01780675).JTO clinical and research reports · 2023Article
- Mitigating radiation-induced cognitive toxicity in brain metastases: More questions than answers.Neuro-oncology advancesReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReducing radiation dose to the hippocampus with hippocampal avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) is proposed to prevent cognitive decline. It has, however, not been investigated whether hippocampal atrophy is actually mitigated by this approach. Here, we determined whether HA-PCI reduces hippocampal atrophy. Additionally, we evaluated neurotoxicity of (HA-)PCI to other brain regions. Finally, we evaluated associations of hippocampal atrophy and brain neurotoxicity with memory decline.
methodsHigh-quality research MRI scans were acquired in the multicenter, randomized phase 3 trial NCT01780675. Hippocampal atrophy was evaluated for 4 months (57 HA-PCI patients and 46 PCI patients) and 12 months (28 HA-PCI patients and 27 PCI patients) after (HA-)PCI. We additionally studied multimodal indices of brain injury. Memory was assessed with the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R).
resultsHA-PCI reduced hippocampal atrophy at 4 months (1.8% for HA-PCI and 3.0% for PCI) and at 12 months (3.0% for HA-PCI and 5.8% for PCI). Both HA-PCI and PCI were associated with considerable reductions in gray matter and normal-appearing white matter, increases in white matter hyperintensities, and brain aging. There were no significant associations between hippocampal atrophy and memory.
conclusionsHA-PCI reduces hippocampal atrophy at 4 and 12 months compared to regular PCI. Both types of radiotherapy are associated with considerable brain injury. We did not find evidence for excessive brain injury after HA-PCI relative to PCI. Hippocampal atrophy was not associated with memory decline in this population as measured with HVLT-R. The usefulness of HA-PCI is still subject to debate.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.