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Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thoracic radiotherapy in the treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) with different metastatic sites.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed among 830 ES-SCLC patients who were admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2019. They all received the first-line chemotherapy and had no progression after chemotherapy. 341 patients of them received thoracic radiotherapy after chemotherapy. The main endpoint was overall survival. The Chi-square test was used to compare the categorical data including gender and age, etc. Univariate survival analysis was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test was used to compare the survival curves between two groups. A multivariate prognostic analysis was made by the Cox proportional hazard model.Results:In all the patients, the overall survival (OS) was 12.4 months. The patients with thoracic radiotherapy had significantly higher OS than the patients without thoracic radiotherapy (15.2 months vs.10.8 months, P<0.001). Thoracic radiotherapy significantly improved the OS in patients without liver metastasis (16.0 months vs.11.4 months, P<0.001) in the oligometastatic patients. But for the oligometastatic patients with liver metastasis, the OS benefit was not significant (14.2 months vs. 10.6 months, P=0.072). For polymetastatic patients without liver metastasis, thoracic radiotherapy offered significant OS benefits (14.5 months vs.10.9 months, P<0.001), but for the polymetastatic patients with liver metastasis, the OS was not improved with thoracic radiotherapy (10.2 months vs.9.2 months, P=0.715). Conclusions:In ES-SCLC patients, thoracic radiotherapy provides significant OS benefits in patients with oligometastases ES-SCLC without liver metastasis and for the liver metastatic patients may also benefit from thoracic radiotherapy based on the effectiveness of chemotherapy. In patients with multiple metastases, thoracic radiotherapy only improves the OS in patients without liver metastasis, but does not improve the prognosis in patients with liver metastasis.
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Objective To investigate the association between the timing of brain metastases and the prognosis of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 131 patients with limited-stage SCLC firstly metastasized to the brain were admitted to our hospital from 2007 to 2015.According to the median bone metastasis-free survival (BMFS),all patients were divided into A group (BMFS ≤ 10 months,n =61) and B group (BMFS＞ 10 months,n=70).The survival rates were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.Between-group comparison was performed by log-rank test.The Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results In all 131 patients,the median overall survival (OS) and 1-,2-,and 3-year OS rates were 22.5 months,87.3％,44.7％,and 20.8％,respectively.The median OS after brain metastases and 1-and 2-year OS rates were 9.3 months,39.3％ and 14.8％,respectively.No statistical significance was observed in the median OS after brain metastases between the A and B groups (8.6 vs.9.3 months,P=0.695).Moreover,the OS after brain metastases did not significantly differ in patients without PCI or those receiving different therapies after brain metastases between two groups (P=0.240-0.731).Conclusions The timing of SCLC with brain metastases is significantly correlated with the OS rather than the OS after brain metastases.Therefore,prevention of brain metastases may be an effective approach to prolong the OS of patients with SCLC.
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Objective To evaluate the effect of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) on the prognosis of elderly patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).Methods Clinical data of 83 patients aged ≥65 years diagnosed with metastatic ES-SCLC admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.All enrolled patients received etoposide plus cisplatin or carboplatin as the standard regimen for chemotherapy.After the propensity score matching (PSM),70 cases were either assigned into the TRT (n=35) or non-TRT groups (n=35).Among them,56 patients were male and 14 female.The median age was 69 years (range:65-85 years).The median chemotherapy cycle was 4 cycles (range:1-11 cycles).The median chest irradiation dose was 50 Gy (range:30-60 Gy).Overall survival (OS),progression-free survival (PFS) and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were regarded as end-point of observation.The survival rate was calculated by using Kaplan-Meier method and statistically compared between two groups by using Log-rank test.Multivariate prognostic analysis was performed using Cox regression model.Results For all patients,the 1-year OS,PFS and LRFS rates were 40％,16％ and 21％,respectively.Patients undergoing TRT obtained better survival outcomes than their counterparts without TRT:the 1-year OS,PFS and LRFS were 52％ vs.29％(P=0.005),30％ vs.3％(P＜0.001),38％ vs.6％ (P＜0.001),respectively.Furthermore,TRT did not increase the incidence of adverse reactions in elderly patients (P=0.690).Conclusion The addition of TRT for elder ES-SCLC patients can significantly improve the rate of chest tumor control and prolong the survival time,which is worthy of further validation by prospective studies with large sample size.
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Objective To investigate the effects of different metastatic sites on the prognosis of extensive?stage small cell lung cancer ( SCLC ) . Methods A retrospective analysis was performed among 322 patients pathologically or cytologically diagnosed with extensive?stage SCLC ( stage ⅠV defined by the seventh edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer) who were admitted to our hospital from 2011 to 2015. In those patients, 246 had primary lesions with distant metastasis and 76 primary lesions with non?regional lymph node metastasis;261 had single?organ metastasis and 61 multi?organ metastases. Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan?Meier method. Between?group comparison of the survival was made by the log?rank test. A multivariate prognostic analysis was made by the Cox proportional hazard model. Results In all the patients, the median survival time ( MST) was 11. 7 months;1?and 2?year overall survival ( OS) rates were 47. 9% and 19. 5%, respectively. The patients with single?organ metastasis had significantly longer MST and significantly higher 1?and 2?year OS rates than the patients with multi?organ metastases ( 12. 4 vs. 8. 9 months;52. 5% vs. 30. 5%;21. 9% vs. 11. 2%;P=0. 014) . In the patients with single?organ metastasis, those with liver metastasis had the worst prognosis with a MST of 8. 5 months, while those with non?regional lymph node metastasis had the best prognosis with a MST of 14. 5 months ( P= 0. 001 );there was no significant difference in the prognosis between patients with metastasis to different organs other than the liver ( P=0. 139) . In the patients with multi?organ metastases, those with liver metastasis and bone metastasis had the worst prognosis ( P=0. 016,0. 006);there was no significant relationship between brain metastasis and the prognosis of extensive?stage SCLC with multi?organ metastases ( P=0. 995) . There was no significantdifference in the prognosis between those with liver metastasis only and multi?organ metastases ( P=0. 862) . Conclusions Liver metastasis predicts the worst prognosis in patients initially diagnosed with extensive?stage SCLC and single?organ metastasis. Liver metastasis and bone metastasis predict the worst prognosis in patients with multi?organ metastases. Brain metastasis has no significant effect on the prognosis. There is no significant difference in the prognosis of extensive?stage SCLC between patients with single?and multi?organ metastases once liver metastasis occurs.
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Small cell lung cancer ( SCLC ) is one common type of lung cancer in China. No remarkable progress has been made in systemic therapy for SCLC since the 90’ s. However, there are some advances in radiotherapy ( RT) for SCLC, which make it possible to improve treatment outcomes of SCLC. Those advances are mainly made in thoracic RT and prophylactic cranial irradiation for extensive?stage SCLC, radiation dose and technology of thoracic RT for limited?stage SCLC, and significance of prophylactic cranial irradiation for early?stage SCLC. The paper reviews the research advances in the East and West to provide some help and references for readers.
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Objective To investigate the effects of different chemoradiotherapy ( CRT) schemes on the prognosis of extensive?stage small?cell lung cancer ( SCLC ) . Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 322 patients with extensive?stage SCLC who were admitted to our hospital from 2011 to 2015.All patients received standard EP/CE ( etoposide+cisplatin/carboplatin) chemotherapy. According to RECIST criteria, the efficacy of chemotherapy was divided into complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease ( PD). A total of 232 patients without PD after chemotherapy were enrolled as subjects and divided into radiotherapy group (n=187) and non?radiotherapy group (n=45).The patients undergoing radiotherapy were further divided into early radiotherapy group ( before 3 cycles of chemotherapy, n=65) and late radiotherapy group (after 3 cycles of chemotherapy, n=122),or concurrent CRT group ( n=45 ) and sequential CRT group ( n=142 ) . The survival rates were analyzed using the Kaplan?Meier method. Between?group comparison was made by log?rank test. The Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis. Results In all the patients, the median overall survival ( OS ) , progression?free survival (PFS),and local recurrence?free survival (LRFS) time was 13?2,8?7,and 14?6 months, respectively. The non?radiotherapy group had significantly shorter median OS, PFS, and LRFS time than the radiotherapy group ( 8?7 vs. 15?0 months, P=0?00;5?6 vs. 9?8 months, P=0?00;5?9 vs. 19?2 months, P=0?00).There were no significant differences in median OS, PFS, or LRFS time between the early radiotherapy group and the late radiotherapy group ( 15?4 vs. 14?6 months, P=0?720;8?0 vs. 10?8 months, P=0?426;19?2 vs. 18?1 months, P=0?981) . The concurrent CRT group had significantly longer median OS time than the sequential CRT group (19?4 vs. 13?8 months, P=0?036),while there were no significant differences in median PFS or LRFS time between the two groups ( 10?8 vs. 9?8 months, P=0?656;19?8 vs. 17?8 months, P= 0?768 ) . Generally, patients undergoing radiotherapy had increased incidence rates of adverse reactions than those without radiotherapy (P=0?038).However, the incidence rates of grade ≥3 adverse reactions were similar between the two groups ( P=0?126) . Conclusions In the treatment of extensive?stage SCLC, thoracic radiotherapy improves the treatment outcomes without increasing the incidence rates of severe adverse reactions. When to receive radiotherapy has nothing to do with the prognosis. Concurrent CRT may further improve the treatment outcomes, which still needs further studies.
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Objective To evaluate the correlation of different fractionation schedules in radiotherapy with the local control ( LC) and overall survival ( OS) rates in patients with extensive?stage small cell lung cancer ( ES?SCLC ) , and to figure out the relationship between different fractionation schedules in radiotherapy and the prognosis of ES?SCLC. Methods One hundred and ten patients newly diagnosed with ES?SCLC from February 2010 to March 2015 received chemoradiotherapy. According to the radiation dose, all patients were divided into hypo?fractionation group ( 30?45 Gy/3 Gy/10?15 f, n=31) and conventional fractionation group ( 54?60 Gy/1?8?2?0 Gy/27?30 f, n=79) . In all patients, 90?9% had stageⅣSCLC;21 patients had brain metastasis;39 patients were treated with prophylactic cranial irradiation ( PCI ) . The Kaplan?Meier method was used to calculate the survival time and log?rank test was used for between?group comparison. Between?group comparison of categorical data was made by χ2 test. Results The number of patients followed?up were 85 at 2?years. In all patients, the 2?year OS, progression?free survival ( PFS) , and LC rates were 27?7%, 17?5%, and 38?9%, respectively. The hypo?fractionation group had similar prognosis to the conventional fractionation group. There were no significant differences in the 2?year OS, PFS, and LC rates between the two groups ( 35% vs. 26%, P=0?886;18% vs. 16%, P=0?560;67% vs. 36%, P=0?159) . There was also no significant difference in the 2?year OS rate between patients treated with and without PCI (44% vs. 18%, P=0?044). In 84 patients with treatment failure, 11 had local recurrence, 41 had distant metastasis, and 32 had local recurrence plus distant metastasis. Conclusions The hypofractionated radiotherapy has similar efficacy but substantially shortened radiation time compared with conventionally fractionated radiotherapy. The palliative hypofractionated radiotherapy requires further study for ES?SCLC.
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Objective To investigate independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in extensive disease small cell lung cancer (EDSCLC). Methods Between January 2003 and December 2006, 154 patients diagnosed with extensive stage small cell lung cancer were enrolled in this study.Prognostic factors such as gender, age, performance status, smoking history, weight loss, distant metastasis, the number of matastasis, brain metastasis, the cycle of chemotherapy and thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) for EDSCLC patients were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results The median following-up time was 40. 5 months. The rate of follow-up was 92. 2%. The MST and overall survival rates at 3-year in smoking group and no-smoking group were 13 months, 11.8% and 17 months,22. 8%,respectively (χ2=3.40,P =0. 064);in ChT/TRT group and ChT group, they were 17. 2 months, 17.9%and 9.3 months,13.9%, respectively(χ2=10.47,P=0.001);and in the cycle of chemotherapy ≥4 group and ＜ 4 group, they were 16 months, 20. 1% and 9.3 months, 2. 9%, respectively (χ2=17.79,P=0. 000). By multivariate analysis, smoking history was a statistically significant unfavorable factor for OS in EDSCLC patients (versus no-smoking, hazard ratio (HR)=1.462, χ2=4.40, P=0.036). In addition, ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy and TRT were favorable prognostic factors ( ≥4 cycles vs ＜4 cycles, HR =0. 420,χ2 = 17. 17, P = 0. 000; ChT/TRT vs ChT, HR = 0. 634, χ2 = 6. 20, P = 0. 013). Conclusions Smoking is a independent unfavorable prognostic factor and ≥ 4 cycles of chemotherapy And TRT are independent favorable prognostic factors for OS in EDSCLC.
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Objective To explore the reasonable radiotherapy range by analyzing the patterns and characteristics of intra-thoracic lymph node metastasis in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).Methods One hundred and fifty patients with limited-stage SCLC who received radical resection of primary tumor and systemic intra-thoracic lymph node dissection were included in the study.All the lymph nodes in each area were recorded and examined pathologically to analyze the patterns and characteristics of intra-thoracic lymph node metastasis.Results A total of 2372 lymph nodes were found in 631 areas,and a total of 413 positive lymph nodes (17.4％) were found in 188 lymph node areas (29.8％ ).Intra-thoracic lymph node metastasis were found in 88 patients,with a positive rate of 58.7％.The frequencies of metastasis in the area 11,10,7,5,4 were much higher than those in the other areas,and central located lesions and the higher T-stage lung tumors were more likely to develop intra-thoracic lymph node metastasis (x2 =15.32,39.72;P =0.000,0.000,respectively).Tumors located in the right upper lobe and right middle/lower lobe had a higher tendency of metastasis to the areas 4,7,10 and 4,7,10,11,respectively.Tumors located in the left upper lobe and left lower lobe had a higher tendency of metastasis to the areas 4,5,6,10 and 4,7,9,10,11,respectively.Mediastinal lymph node metastasis (N2 ) were found in 72 patients,among whom 29 patients (40.3％ ) had skipping N2 metastasis without hilar metastasis.Tumors located in the upper lobe had a tendency of skipping metastasis to the upper mediastinum,while tumors located in the middle/lower lobe had a tendency of skipping metastasis to the upper and lower mediastinum.Conclusions The lymph node metastases in SCLC follow the lymphatic drainage routes,that is,from intrapulmonary to the hilar and then to the mediastinum,but with some skipping metastases.Tumors located in different lobes have different high risk lymph node areas for metastasis,and elective irradiation to these lymph node areas maybe increase radiotherapy gain ratio in SCLC.
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Objective To study the effect of different dose fractionation on overall survival in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Methods LS-SCLC patients treated with radical combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) between January 2001 and Dec 2007 were analyzed retrospectively. According to the dose fractionation schemes, patients were divided into three groups:conventional fractionated RT (1. 8 -2.0 Gy,once daily), hyperfractionated RT (1.4 Gy, twice daily) and hypofractionated RT (2. 5 Gy,once daily). Overall survival, disease free survival and pattern of failures of the three groups were compared. A total of 177 patients were enrolled, including 63 patients in conventional fractionated RT group, 79 in hyperfractionated RT group and 35 in hypofractionated RT group. Results The overall follow-up rate was 96. 6%. The patient numbers with follow-up of more than 2 and 5 years were 153 and 92, respectively. The median survival time of the entire group was 22. 4 months, and the 2-and 5-year survival rates were 43.4% and 23. 5%, respectively. The 2-year survival rates for three groups were 31%, 46% and 59% (x2 =7.94,P=0.019), respectively. The 2-year disease free survival for three groups were 20%, 31% and 40% ( x2 = 4. 86, P = 0. 088 ), respectively. In the pairwise comparisons,patients in hypofractionated RT group have better survival than those in conventional fractionated RT group ( x2 = 7. 81, P = 0. 005 ), the effect of hyperfractionated RT group lies between the hypo-and the conventional fractionated RT groups, but no significant differences were detected ( x2 = 2. 31, P = 0. 128; x2 = 2. 95, P =0. 086). The mildest side effect was found in the hypofractionated RT group. No statistically significant differences were found in the patterns of first failure. Conclusion The hypofractionated RT scheme showed potential survival benefits for patients with LS-SCLC and should be considered in the setting of randomized clinical trials.
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Objective To evaluate the effects of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) on the survival and brain metastatic rates in patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in complete remission. Methods Fifty one patients with limited stage SCLC in complete remission after chemoradiotherapy were randomly divided into prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) group (n=26) and control group (n=25). Patients in PCI group received irradiation to a dose of 25.2～30.6?Gy by 1.8～2.0?Gy per fraction. With the survival rates of the two groups analyzed by life table and compared by Log Rank test, the difference in cranial metastatic rates between the two groups were tested by ? 2 test. The patients' clinical features such as age, sex, effect of treatment before PCI were comparable between the two groups. Results The incidence of cranial metastasis was 3.8% in the PCI group as compared with 32.0% in the control group, with the difference significant (? 2=5.15, P= 0.02 ). The 1 , 3 , 5 year survival rates were 84.6%, 42.3%, 34.6% in the PCI group and 72.0%, 32.0%, 24.0% in the control group, with no significant difference between the two groups (? 2=2.25, P=0.13). No serious complications were observed in patients who received PCI. Conclusion For patients with limited stage SCLC complete response after chemoradiotherapy, PCI can decrease the incidence of cranial metastasis and tends to improve the survival rate.