Heart and Lung Dose as Predictors of Overall Survival in Patients With Locally Advanced Lung Cancer. A National Multicenter Study

Agon Olloni*, Carsten Brink, Ebbe Laugaard Lorenzen, Stefan Starup Jeppesen, Lone Hofmann, Charlotte Kristiansen, Marianne Marquard Knap, Ditte Sloth Møller, Lotte Nygård, Gitte Fredberg Persson, Rune Slot Thing, Hella Maria Brøgger Sand, Axel Diederichsen, Tine Schytte

*Corresponding author for this work

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: It is an ongoing debate how much lung and heart irradiation impact overall survival (OS) after definitive radiotherapy for lung cancer. This study uses a large national cohort of patients with locally advanced NSCLC to investigate the association between OS and irradiation of lung and heart.

METHODS: Treatment plans were acquired from six Danish radiotherapy centers, and patient characteristics were obtained from national registries. A hybrid segmentation tool automatically delineated the heart and substructures. Dose-volume histograms for all structures were extracted and analyzed using principal component analyses (PCAs). Parameter selection for a multivariable Cox model for OS prediction was performed using cross-validation based on bootstrapping.

RESULTS: The population consisted of 644 patients with a median survival of 26 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24-29). The cross-validation selected two PCA variables to be included in the multivariable model. PCA1 represented irradiation of the heart and affected OS negatively (hazard ratio, 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04-1.26). PCA2 characterized the left-right balance (right atrium and left ventricle) irradiation, showing better survival for tumors near the right side (hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% CI: 0.84-1.00). Besides the two PCA variables, the multivariable model included age, sex, body-mass index, performance status, tumor dose, and tumor volume.

CONCLUSIONS: Besides the classic noncardiac risk factors, lung and heart doses had a negative impact on survival, while it is suggested that the left side of the heart is a more radiation dose-sensitive region. The data indicate that overall heart irradiation should be reduced to improve the OS if possible.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100663
JournalJTO clinical and research reports
Volume5
Issue number4
ISSN2666-3643
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2024

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