• Branislav Jeremić, Biljana Miličić, and Slobodan Milisavljevic.
• Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Kragujevac, Serbia. nebareje@gmail.com
• Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2012 Mar 1; 82 (3): 1157-63.

PurposeOur institutional experience with the use of hyperfractionated radiation therapy (RT) alone or concurrently with chemotherapy (RT-CHT) in Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer was reviewed.Methods And MaterialsThree phase III and two phase II studies included a total of 600 patients. Hyperfractionated RT alone was given to 127 patients, and hyperfractionated RT-CHT was given to 473 patients. RT doses were 64.8 Gy and 69.6 Gy (using 1.2 Gy twice daily) and 67.6 Gy (using 1.3 Gy twice daily). CHT consisted of concurrent administration of carboplatin and etoposide to 409 patients and concurrent administration of carboplatin and paclitaxel to 64 patients.ResultsThe median survival times were 19 months, 21 months, and 12 months for all, RT-CHT, and RT-only patients, respectively. The survival difference between the RT-CHT and RT group was significant (p < 0.0001). Four-year rates of local progression-free survival (LPFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were 29% and 35%, respectively, for the entire group. The RT-CHT group had significantly better LPFS rates than the RT group (31% for the RT-CHT group vs. 16% for the RT group; p = 0.0015) but not DMFS rates (36% for the RT-CHT group vs. 36% for the RT group, p = 0.0571). Acute high-grade esophagitis, pneumonitis, and hematological toxicities were seen most frequently and in 11%, 9%, and 12% of patients, respectively. Late high-grade esophageal and bronchopulmonary toxicity were each seen in 6% of patients.ConclusionsCompared to the majority of existing phase II and III studies, this study reconfirmed the excellent results achieved with concurrent RT-CHT, including low toxicity. Concurrent RT-CHT results in survival benefit primarily by increasing LPFS, not DMFS.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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