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High Dose Radiation Therapy in NSCLC
Comparing quality of life after 74-Gy or 60-Gy dosing
Despite few differences in clinician-reported toxic effects between treatment arms, quality of life (QOL) analysis demonstrated a clinically meaningful decline in QOL in the 74-Gy arm vs the 60-Gy arm at 3 months. This according to a study of 313 patients with stage III non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Researchers found:
• Patient demographics and baseline QOL scores were comparable between the 74-Gy and 60-Gy arms.
• Significantly more patients in the 74-Gy arm had clinically meaningful declines in Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)-Lung Cancer Subscale (LCS) scores at 3 months.
•At 12 months, fewer patients who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (vs 3D-CRT) had clinically meaningful decline in FACT-LS (21% vs 46%).
• In multivariate analysis, baseline FACT-Trial Outcome Index was associated with overall survival.
Citation: Movsas B, Hu C, Sloan J, et al. Quality of life analysis of a radiation dose–escalation study of patients with non–small-cell lung cancer. [Published online ahead of print November 25, 2015]. JAMA Oncol. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.3969.