Relationship between the curative effect of chemoradiotherapy and brain metastasis in limited-disease small cell lung cancer / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To determine the relationship between the curative effect of chemo radiotherapy and brain metastasis in limited-disease small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC). Methods:Data of 149 patients with LD-SCLC who had undergone chemoradiother-apy between April 2009 and April 2012 were analyzed. The curative effect of chemoradiotherapy was evaluated using RECIST version 1.1, which includes complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progression of disease (PD). The objective relief includes CR and PR. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method.χ2 text was used to analyze the correlation between the factors. Results:The median overall survival (OS) was 20.0 months, and the 3-year OS rate was 33.0%. Brain metastasis occurred in 43 (28.8%) out of the 149 patients. Among the 43 cases, 12 (29.3%), 9 (11.8%), and 22 (68.8%) had CR, PR, and SD/PD, respectively (P=0.007). The curative effect of chemoradiotherapy correlates with the rate of brain metastasis (17.8%vs. 68.8%, P=0.027). Signifi-cant differences were found between the curative effect and the brain metastasis-free survival (BMFS) (P=0.005). The 2-year BMSF for CR patients was 79.5%, and the corresponding 2-year BMSF for PR, SD, and PD patients was 71.9%, 45.8%, and 49.6%, respectively. Further analysis showed that the performance of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) had an important effect on the OS (P=0.007) of patients who achieved objective relief. Conclusion:The BMFS of patients with LD-SCLC who achieved CR after chemoradiotherapy is favorable, with low rate of brain metastasis. Patients who received PCI had a better OS. Thus, we suggest that timely PCI should be considered for the patients who achieved CR.