Is prophylactic cranial irradiation indicated for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer with a complete response to first-line treatment?

Abstract

Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) has been considered standard of care for patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer who achieve complete response to definitive treatment after a meta-analysis revealed its favorable effects on survival. In a European trial, PCI was also shown to confer a survival advantage for patients with extensive-stage (ES) SCLC who experienced any positive response after initial chemotherapy, leading to PCI also being considered a standard treatment for these patients as well. However, a recent Japanese trial investigating PCI for patients with ES-SCLC was stopped early when an interim analysis failed to confirm a survival benefit. This finding has motivated the thoracic oncology community to rethink the role of PCI in ES-SCLC.

• Authors: Ryoko Suzuki, Ritsuko Komaki
• Journal: Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (Radiother Oncol) Vol. 127 Issue 3 Pg. 339-343 (06 2018) ISSN: 1879-0887 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 29747874 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Brain Neoplasms (prevention & control, radiotherapy, secondary)
• Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic
• Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic
• Cranial Irradiation (adverse effects, methods)
• Female
• Humans
• Lung Neoplasms
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Radiotherapy Dosage
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Remission Induction
• Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (prevention & control, radiotherapy, secondary)
• Treatment Outcome