Tumour size reduction after the first chemotherapy-course and outcomes of chemoradiotherapy in limited disease small-cell lung cancer

- Most (94%) patients had a reduction in tumour size after one course of chemotherapy.
- Eighteen percent had a partial response according to RECIST.
- Reduction in tumour size was positively associated with survival.
- We did not identify patients that should not be offered thoracic radiotherapy.
- Early treatment response might be used to stratify patients in studies of LD SCLC.

ObjectivesConcurrent chemotherapy and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) is recommended for limited disease small-cell lung cancer (LD SCLC). TRT should start as early as possible, often meaning with the second course due to patient referral time and the fact that TRT planning takes time. Early assessment of response to the first course of chemotherapy may be a useful way to individualise treatment. The aims of this study were to assess tumour size reduction after the first chemotherapy-course, and whether this reduction was associated with outcomes in LD SCLC.Material and methodsA randomised trial comparing twice-daily (45 Gy/30 fractions) with once-daily (42 Gy/15 fractions) TRT, given concurrently with four courses of cisplatin/etoposide (n = 157) was the basis for this study. Tumour size was assessed on CT scans at baseline and planning scans for TRT according to RECIST 1.0.ResultsCT scans were available for 135 patients (86%). Ninety-four percent had a reduction in tumour size after the first chemotherapy-course. The median reduction in sum of diameters (SOD) of measurable lesions was ÷16 mm (÷84 to +10 mm), corresponding to ÷18% (÷51 to +12%). Eighty-two percent had stable disease, 18% partial response. Reduction in SOD was significantly associated with complete response at first follow-up (OR: 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.09; p=0.013), PFS (HR: 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.99; p=0.001), and overall survival (HR: 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-1.00; p=0.010).ConclusionResponse from the first course of chemotherapy had a significant positive association with outcomes from chemoradiotherapy, and might be used to stratify and randomise patients in future studies.