Pulmonary function following high-dose radiotherapy of non-small-cell lung cancer

Katrien De Jaeger, Yvette Seppenwoolde, Liesbeth J. Boersma, Sara H. Muller, Paul Baas, José S.A. Belderbos, Joos V. Lebesque*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

93 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: To study changes of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) after radiotherapy (RT) of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in relation to radiation dose, tumor regression, and changes in lung perfusion. Methods and Materials: Eighty-two patients with inoperable NSCLC were evaluated with PFTs (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] and diffusion capacity [TL,COc]), a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest, and a single photon emission CT (SPECT) lung perfusion scan, before and 3-4 months after RT. The reductions of PFTs and tumor volume were calculated. The lung perfusion was measured from pre- and post-RT SPECT scans, and the difference was defined as the measured perfusion reduction (MPR). In addition, the perfusion post-RT was estimated from the dose distribution using a dose-effect relation for regional lung perfusion, and compared with the pre-RT lung perfusion to obtain the predicted perfusion reduction (PPR). The difference between the actually measured and the PPR was defined as reperfusion. The mean lung dose (MLD) was computed and weighted with the pre-RT perfusion, resulting in the mean perfusion-weighted lung dose (MpLD). Changes of PFTs were evaluated in relation to tumor dose, MLD, MpLD, tumor regression, and parameters related to perfusion changes. Results: In a multivariate analysis, the total tumor dose and MLD were not associated with reductions of PFTs. Tumor regression resulted in a significant improvement of FEV1 (p = 0.02), but was associated with a reduction of TL,COc (p = 0.05). The MpLD and the PPR showed a significant (p = 0.01 to 0.04) but low correlation (r = 0.24 to 0.31) with the reduction of both PFTs. The other parameters for perfusion changes, the MPR and reperfusion were not correlated with changes in PFTs. Conclusion: The perfusion-related dose variables, the MpLD or the PPR, are the best parameters to estimate PFTs after RT. Tumor regression is associated with an improvement of FEV1 and a decline of TL,COc. Reperfusion was not associated with an improvement of global pulmonary function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1331-1340
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
Volume55
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2003
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Dutch Cancer Society (grant no 99-2043).

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