Frontiers in Oncology (Nov 2013)

Feasibility of Tomotherapy-based image-guided radiotherapy for small cell lung cancer

  • Nam Phong Nguyen,
  • Wei eShen,
  • Sarah eKratz,
  • Jacqueline eVock,
  • Paul eVos,
  • Vincent eVinh-Hung,
  • Gabor eAltdorfer,
  • Lars eEwell,
  • Siyoung eJang,
  • ULF LENNART Karlsson,
  • Juan eGodinez,
  • Melissa eMills,
  • Thomas eSroka,
  • Suresh eDutta,
  • Alexander eChi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2013.00289
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3

Abstract

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Background: To assess the tolerance of patients with small cell lung cancer undergoing chemoradiation with tomotherapy-based image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT).Materials and methods: A retrospective review of the toxicity profile for nine patients with small cell lung cancer of the limited stage who underwent chemoradiation delivered with helical tomotherapy (HT) has been conducted.Results: Acute grade 3-4 hematologic and esophagitis toxicities developed in two and three patients respectively. One patient developed a pulmonary embolism during radiotherapy. Seven patients had weight loss ranging from 0 to 30 pounds (median: 4 pounds). Three patients had treatment breaks ranging from 2 to 12 days. At a median follow-up of 11 months (range: 2-24 months), no patients developed any radiation related toxicities such as grade 3-4 pneumonitis or other long-term complications. The median survival was estimated to be 15 months. There were 2 local recurrences, 3 mediastinal recurrences, and six distant metastases.Conclusion: Grade 3-4 toxicities remained significant during chemoradiation when radiation was delivered with tomotherapy-based IGRT. However, the absence of grade 3-4 pneumonitis is promising and the use of HT needs to be investigated in future prospective studies.

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