A retrospective quality of life analysis using the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale in patients treated with palliative radiotherapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To measure symptom palliation in patients treated with radiation therapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Five hundred thirty patients with NSCLC were treated at the Medical College of Virginia between 1988 and 1993. Sixty-three patients with the least favorable prognostic features received palliative radiation to 30 Gy in 10 or 12 fractions for symptoms related to the presence of intrathoracic tumor. The observer portion of the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale (LCSS) was employed in a retrospective chart review, scoring measures of appetite, fatigue, cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and pain. RESULTS: In 54 evaluable patients, median survival was 4 months and was independent of age, stage, performance status, or histology. Ninety-six percent of the patients had at least one LCSS symptom at presentation. Fatigue was unaffected by therapy. Improvements in appetite (p = 0.68) and pain (p = 0.61) were not statistically significant. There was, however, a statistically significant reduction in cough (p = 0.01), hemoptysis (p = 0.001), and dyspnea (p = 0.0003). Self-limiting acute side effects included transient esophagitis in 37% of patients, though no severe toxicities were noted. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest symptomatic benefit from radiotherapy even in those NSCLC patients with advanced disease and a limited life expectancy. Treatment should be given to patients whose symptoms are most amenable to palliation. A site-specific quality of life instrument such as the LCSS should be included within any future clinical trial of NSCLC management so that symptom control may be scored as a treatment outcome in addition to disease-free survival.

Combined chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the bulbomembranous urethra: a case report.

Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the bulbomembranous urethra fare poorly whether they undergo surgery or primary radiotherapy. Combined chemoradiotherapy has been used with encouraging results in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and esophagus, and limited reports suggest that this management may show promise in the control of squamous cell carcinoma of the urethra. We report good results in a man with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the bulbomembranous urethra who underwent concomitant radiotherapy, mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil. We encourage the use of this regimen in patients with urethral squamous cell carcinoma as well as the reporting of results.

Results of high-dose thoracic irradiation incorporating beam's eye view display in non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective multivariate analysis.

PURPOSE: To review the University of Michigan clinical experience in nonsmall cell lung cancer using high-dose thoracic irradiation (> or = 60 Gy) so that a starting dose for our prospective dose-escalation study could be determined. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eighty-eight consecutive patients diagnosed with medically inoperable or locally advanced, unresectable nonsmall cell lung cancer were identified who were treated with thoracic irradiation alone to a minimum total dose of 60 Gy (uncorrected for lung density). All patients except four (95%) underwent computed tomography scanning for treatment planning that included beam's eye view display for tumor and critical structure localization. All patients were treated with standard fractionation in a continuous course to uncorrected total doses ranging from 60 to 74 Gy (median, 67.6 Gy). RESULTS: The median follow-up exceeds 24 months for all surviving patients (range, 12 to 78 months). The median survival time was 15 months, and the 2- and 3-year overall actuarial survival rates were 37% and 15%, respectively. Survival was significantly different between stage of disease (p = .004) and N-stage (p = .002) by univariate analysis. In a multivariate analysis, stage becomes the only characteristic significantly associated with outcome. The median time to local progression for 86 evaluable patients was 29 months. Stage (p = .0003), T-stage (p = .0095) and N-stage (p = .027) were significantly different with respect to local progression-free survival by univariate analysis. However, only stage was prognostic for local progression-free survival by multivariate analysis. There was no difference between large volume treatment (inclusion of the contralateral hilar and supraclavicular lymph nodes) and small volume treatment (exclusion of these elective nodal sites) with respect to local progression-free survival (p = .507) or survival (p = .520). With regard to dose, there was no significant difference between patients who received > 67.6 Gy and patients who received < or = 67.6 Gy with respect to local progression-free survival (p = .094) or survival (p = .142). Within the Stage III subgroup, local progression-free survival (p = .018) and survival (p = .061) were longer favoring the high-dose group of patients. Despite these doses, disease progression within the irradiated field was the predominant first site of treatment failure. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study has shown that it is feasible to deliver uncorrected tumor doses as high as 70 Gy using standard fractionation in NSCLC with acceptable morbidity. Local control remains a significant problem. These data indicate justification for a starting dose in a prospective radiation dose-escalation study.