Postoperative radiotherapy in the management of resected non-small-cell lung carcinoma: 10 years' experience in a single institute

Abstract

Purpose: This study reports the long term outcomes of postoperative radiotherapy in patients with resection for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods and materials: A total of 98 patients with resected NSCLC who received postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) between January 1994 and December 2004 were retrospectively analyzed. The most frequently performed surgical procedure was lobectomy (59 patients), followed by pneumonectomy (25), wedge resection (8), and bilobectomy (6). Postoperative radiotherapy was delivered as an adjuvant treatment in 71 patients, after a wedge resection in 8 patients, and after an R1 resection in 19 patients. The PORT was administered using a Co-60 source in 86 patients and 6-MV photons in 12 patients. A Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival, locoregional control, and distant metastasis-free survival were calculated.

Results: Stages included I (n =13), II (n = 50), IIIA (n = 29), and IIIB (n = 6). After a median follow-up of 52 months median survival was 61 months. The 5-year overall survival, locoregional control, and distant metastasis-free survival rates for the whole group were 50%, 78%, and 55% respectively. The RT dose, Karnofsky performance status, age, lateralization of the tumor, and pneumonectomy were independent prognostic factors for OAS; anemia and the number of involved lymph nodes were independent prognostic factors for LC.

Conclusions: Doses of PORT of greater than 54 Gy were associated with higher death rate in patients with left-sided tumor, which may indicate a risk of radiation-induced cardiac mortality.