Once daily versus twice-daily radiotherapy in the management of limited disease small cell lung cancer - Decision criteria in routine practise

Abstract

Background: In limited disease small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC), the CONVERT trial has not demonstrated superiority of once-daily (QD) radiotherapy (66 Gy) over twice-daily (BID) radiotherapy (45 Gy). We explored the factors influencing the selection between QD and BID regimens.

Methods: Thirteen experienced European thoracic radiation oncologists as selected by the European Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) were asked to describe their strategies in the management of LD-SCLC. Treatment strategies were subsequently converted into decision trees and analysed for agreement and discrepancies.

Results: Logistic reasons, patients' performance status and radiotherapy dose constraints were the three major decision criteria used by most experts in decision making. The use of QD and BID regimens was balanced among European experts, but there was a trend towards the BID regimen for fit patients able to travel twice a day to the radiotherapy site.

Conclusion: BID and QD radiotherapy are both accepted regimens among experts and the decision is influenced by pragmatic factors such as availability of transportation.

Keywords: BID radiotherapy; Decision making; Limited disease small cell lung cancer; QD radiotherapy; SCLC.