The VA cares for an estimated 175,000 Veterans annually in their cancer treatment program. Radiation treatment for curative or definitive cancer therapy is an important and frequently used option. The Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP) is responding to a request from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Radiation Oncology Quality Task Force for an evidence review on the comparative effectiveness of hypofractionation versus conventional radiation therapy for adults with breast, prostate, lung, rectal, head and neck, bladder, pancreas, melanoma, or non-melanoma skin cancers.

Contents

• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• ABBREVIATIONS TABLE
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  • INTRODUCTION
  • METHODS
  • RESULTS
  • DISCUSSION
• INTRODUCTION
  • PURPOSE
  • BACKGROUND
• METHODS
  • TOPIC DEVELOPMENT
  • PROTOCOL
  • DATA SOURCES AND SEARCHES
  • STUDY SELECTION
  • DATA ABSTRACTION AND ASSESSMENT
  • KEY QUESTIONS
  • SYNTHESIS
• RESULTS
  • LITERATURE FLOW
  • LITERATURE OVERVIEW
  • BREAST CANCER
  • PROSTATE CANCER
  • LUNG CANCER
  • HEAD AND NECK CANCER
  • RECTAL CANCER
• DISCUSSION
  • LIMITATIONS
  • FUTURE RESEARCH
  • CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX A. SEARCH STRATEGIES
• APPENDIX B. EXCLUDED STUDIES
• APPENDIX C. PEER REVIEW DISPOSITION
• APPENDIX D. BREAST CANCER
• APPENDIX E. PROSTATE CANCER TABLES
• APPENDIX F. LUNG CANCER TABLES
• APPENDIX G. HEAD AND NECK CANCER TRIALS
• APPENDIX H. RECTAL CANCER TRIALS

Suggested citation:

Landsteiner A, Sowerby C, Ullman K, et al. Hypofractionation Radiation Therapy for Definitive Treatment of Selected Cancers: A Systematic Review. Washington, DC: Evidence Synthesis Program, Health Services Research and Development Service, Office of Research and Development, Department of Veterans Affairs. VA ESP Project 09-009; 2023.

This report was prepared by the Evidence Synthesis Program Center located at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, directed by Timothy J. Wilt, MD, MPH and Wei Duan-Porter, MD, PhD and funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research and Development.

The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s) who are responsible for its contents and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. Therefore, no statement in this article should be construed as an official position of the Department of Veterans Affairs. No investigators have any affiliations or financial involvement (eg, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties) that conflict with material presented in the report.

*

These are all lead authors who contributed equally to this report.