PHILADELPHIA, PA – Secondary analysis results from the phase III NRG Oncology-RTOG 0617 clinical trial comparing standard- versus high-dose chemoradiotherapy with or without cetuximab for unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) indicate that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) should be used to treat locally advanced disease to reduce risk of severe pulmonary toxicity and radiation exposure to the heart. These findings were presented at the 2023 IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Singapore and were additionally selected for inclusion in the conference's Press Program.
The analysis compared 5-year outcomes of patients treated with IMRT and three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) based on initial trial stratification. Outcomes analyzed included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), time to local failure (LF), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS), Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3 ≥ grade 3 toxicities, and development of second malignancies. The findings support the general premise that IMRT may be superior to 3D-CRT for reduction of toxicities across various malignancies in certain circumstances.
Of 482 patients treated for locally advanced NSCLC, 228 (47%) were treated with IMRT and 255 (53%) with 3D-CRT. In terms of baseline characteristics, th PHILADELPHIA, PA – e median heart V40Gy was 16.52% for IMRT versus 20.54% for 3D-CRT (p 1, p
"To minimize risk of severe pulmonary toxicity and radiation exposure to the heart, IMRT should be considered the radiation technique of choice for patients with locally advanced NSCLC," stated Stephen G. Chun, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead investigator of the analysis. The analysis further concluded that radiation planning should aim to minimize the lung V20Gy and heart V20-60Gy, with a heart V40Gy ideally
This project was supported by the NRG Oncology Operations grant U10CA180868 and the NRG Oncology SDMC grant U10CA180822 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health and conducted by the NCI National Clinical Trials Network.
Citation
Stephen G. Chun, Chen Hu, Ritsuko U. Komaki, Robert D. Timmerman, Steven E. Schild, Jeffrey A. Bogart, Michael C. Dobelbower, Walter Bosch, Vivek S. Kavadi, Samir Narayan, Puneeth Iyengar, Clifford G. Robinson, Jan Rothman, Adam Raben, Mark E. Augspurger, Robert M. MacRae, Rebecca Paulus, Jeffrey D. Bradley. Long-term outcomes by radiation technique for locally-advanced non-small lung cancer: A 5-year secondary analysis of NRG Oncology-RTOG 0617. IASLC 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer; Abstract OA17.04
About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to conduct clinical trials with emphasis on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology's extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI's National Clinical Trials Network.
