title: The start of chemotherapy until the end of radiotherapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy is the standard treatment for limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Although numerous studies indicate that the overall duration of chemoradiotherapy is the most relevant predictor of outcome, the optimal chemotherapy and radiation schedule for LS-SCLC remains controversial. Therefore we analyzed the time from the start of any treatment until the end of radiotherapy (SER) in patients with LS-SCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed 29 patients diagnosed histologically with LS-SCLC and divided them into two groups: a short SER group (< 60 days) and a long SER (> 60 days) group. Patients were treated with irinotecan-based chemotherapy and thoracic radiotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen patients were in the short SER group and 13 patients were in the long SER group. Short SER significantly prolonged survival rate (p = 0.03) compared with that of long SER. However, no significant differences in side effects were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short SER should be considered to improve the outcome of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for LS-SCLC.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory and Allergy, Department of Internal Medicine, Daejin Medical Center, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung Ju
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun Joo
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Gyu Young
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Hur
authors.forename: Sang Yeub
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Je Hyeong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jae Jeong
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Kwang Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: In
authors.forename: Kyung Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Se Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Sung Yong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Chemoradiotherapy; Limited-stage; Small cell lung carcinoma; Start of any treatment until the end of radiotherapy