A prospective study on concurrent chemotherapy and thoracic three-dimensional radiotherapy for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer ( 1 )——survival and toxicity

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the overall survival and safety among patients for stage Ⅳ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with concurrent chemotherapy and thoracic three-dimensional radiotherapy (CCTTRT).Methods From Jan.2003 to July 2010,201 patients with stage Ⅳ NSCLC were included.All patients were treated with CCTTRT.Those patients who received only one cycle chemotherapy were not included in survival analysis,but analysis of toxicity.One hundred and eighty-two patients were eligible for survival analysis.All patients received platinum-based two-drug chemotherapy.The median number of cycles was 4.The median dose to planning target volume of primary tumor ( DTPTV ) was 63 Gy.Treatment-related gastrointestinal and hematological toxicity were scored according to WHO criteria.Radiation-related pneumonitis and esophagitis were evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTC) version 3.0.Survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the Logrank.Cox regression model was used to examine the effect of CCTTRT on overall survival.Results The follow-up rate of 201 patients was 97.5％.with 201,170 and 134 patients finished ＜ 1,1 -2 and ≥3 years' follow-up,respectively.Of the 182 patients eligible for survival analysis,further stratified analysis showed that the 1-,2-and 3-year overall survival rate and median survival time (MST) was 54％,20％,13％ and 14.3 months,respectively for patients treated with concurrent 4 -5 cycles chemotherapy and CCTTRT,and 66％,23％,19％ and 16.1 months,respectively for those treated with 4 -5 cycles chemotherapy and DTPTV ≥ 63 Gy.Under similar chemoradiotherapy intensity,the MST of patients with single organ metastasis was significantly longer than that with multiple organ metastases ( 13.0 months versus 8.5 months,x2 =10.10,P =0.001 ).For patients eligible for survival analysis and received 4 - 5 cycles of systemic chemotherapy,MST of patients treated with DTPTV≥63 Gy was significantly longer than those treated with DTPTV ＜63 Gy[14.9 months vs.8.4 months (x2 ＝20.48,P =0.000) and 16.1 months vs.8.8 months ( x2 =11.75,P =0.001 )].For patients with single organ metastasis,MST was 16 months for those treated with DTPTV ≥63 Gy and 9 months for those with DTPTV ＜63 Gy (x2 =10.51,P=0.000) ;for patients with multiple organ metastasis,it was 11 months and 7 months,respectively ( x2 =7.90,P =0.005 ).Multivariate analysis showed that concurrent 4 - 5 cycles chemotherapy and DTPTV ≥63 Gy (β =0.243,P=0.019) and improved KPS (β =1.268,P=0.000) were independent factors for survival.For the whole group,45％ patients had Grade 2 -3 gastrointestinal toxicity,35.0％ grade 3- 4 leukopenia,18％ grade 3- 4 thrombocytopenia.15.0％ grade 3- 4 anemia,9.5％ Grade 2 - 3 radiation pneumonia and 13.4％ radiation esophagitis,respectively.Conclusions For stage Ⅳ NSCLC,CCTTRT can prolong survival time with acceptable toxicity.Radiotherapy to thoracic primary tumor should be under consideration. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small cell lung/concurrent chemoradiotherapy; Radiotherapy,three-dimensional; Prognosis; Toxicity