Results
oesophageal toxicity
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, MAY, HEART
From May 2021 to July 2022, 20 patients were enrolled on 20 planned (100%). Eighteen patients underwent STAR. One patient withdrew informed consent before treatment, and one patient was excluded due to the close relationship between the oesophagus and the left PVs (high risk of oesophageal toxicity or high risk to perform a non-effective treatment) (Flow diagram regarding the STAR clinical trial.Clinical characteristics of the 20 study patientsEF, ejection fraction; EHRA, European Heart Rhythm Association.Before treatment, all patients performed 15-day ECG-Holter monitoring, reporting a median of eight AF episodes (range 1–27) (Atrial fibrillation episodes documented during 15-day ECG-Holter monitoring.Baseline echocardiographic data (20 patients)TAPSE, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion.In terms of RT data, regarding dose constraints, average heart and left anterior descending artery (LAD) mean dose was 3.9 and 6.3 Gy, respectively, while mean maximum dose for LAD, spinal cord, left and right bronchus, and oesophagus was 11.2, 7.5, 14.3, 12.4, and 13.6 Gy, respectively.From geometrical point of view, STAR plan was delivered using three non-coplanar arcs with 10 MV-flattening filter free (FFF). The median delivering treatment time was 3 min. All patients received a total dose of 25 Gy in a single fraction on PVs.