Phase III study of concurrent versus sequential thoracic radiotherapy in combination with cisplatin and etoposide for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer: results of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study 9104.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the optimal timing for thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC), the Lung Cancer Study Group of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group conducted a phase III study in which patients were randomized to sequential TRT or concurrent TRT.


METHODS
We treated 231 patients with LS-SCLC. TRT consisted of 45 Gy over 3 weeks (1.5 Gy twice daily), and the patients were randomly assigned to receive either sequential or concurrent TRT. All patients received four cycles of cisplatin plus etoposide every 3 weeks (sequential arm) or 4 weeks (concurrent arm). TRT was begun on day 2 of the first cycle of chemotherapy in the concurrent arm and after the fourth cycle in the sequential arm.


RESULTS
Concurrent radiotherapy yielded better survival than sequential radiotherapy (P =.097 by log-rank test). The median survival time was 19.7 months in the sequential arm versus 27.2 months in the concurrent arm. The 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates for patients who received sequential radiotherapy were 35.1%, 20.2%, and 18.3%, respectively, as opposed to 54.4%, 29.8% and 23.7%, respectively, for the patients who received concurrent radiotherapy. Hematologic toxicity was more severe in the concurrent arm. However, severe esophagitis was infrequent in both arms, occurring in 9% of the patients in the concurrent arm and 4% in the sequential arm.


CONCLUSIONS
This study strongly suggests that cisplatin plus etoposide and concurrent radiotherapy is more effective for the treatment of LS-SCLC than cisplatin plus etoposide and sequential radiotherapy.
Takada
Minoru
M
Osaka Prefectural Habikino Hospital, Osaka City General Medical Center, Kinki National Hospital for Chest Disease, Osaka, Japan.
Fukuoka
Masahiro
M
Kawahara
Masaaki
M
Sugiura
Takahiko
T
Yokoyama
Akira
A
Yokota
Soichiro
S
Nishiwaki
Yutaka
Y
Watanabe
Koshiro
K
Noda
Kazumasa
K
Tamura
Tomohide
T
Fukuda
Haruhiko
H
Saijo
Nagahiro
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects; D012306:Risk; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome