Effective Way to Improve Quality of Life for Small-Cell Lung Cancer Survivors

Preventative Cranial Radiation Therapy is a Cost Effective Way to Improve Quality of Life for Small-Cell Lung Cancer Survivors

Contact:Katherine Egan Bennett703-227-0156[email protected]

Lesley Nevers703-227-0141[email protected]

January 7, 2002, Fairfax, Va. -- Prophylactic cranial irradiation is a cost effective way to improve the quality of life for survivors of small-cell lung cancer, according to a new study published in the January 2002 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics.

Small-cell lung cancer is both chemo- and radio-sensitive. The brain is a common site of metastases for patients with this disease, but the blood-brain barrier often prevents chemotherapeutic agents from reaching tumoricidal levels. Therefore, it has been suggested that patients with complete remission from small-cell lung cancer might benefit from prophylactic cranial irradiation.

In research conducted in Canada under the leadership of T. H. Patricia Tai, M.B., B.S., an oncologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, a retrospective study was undertaken of all patients diagnosed in Saskatchewan with small-cell lung cancer between 1987 and 1998. Patients who achieved complete remission were divided into two groups depending on whether they underwent prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI+ and PCI- respectively). The quality-of-life-adjusted survival was estimated by the Q-TWiST method (quality time without symptoms and toxicity). The mean incremental costs per month of incremental overall survival were calculated in a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Among the 98 patients in complete remission, the median overall survival rate for both PCI+ and PCI- patients was 20 and 19 months respectively. The median disease-free survival was 14.7 and 10 months respectively. The difference in the mean Q-TWiST survival was significant and the mean incremental cost was $18,834 per PCI+ patient versus $17,885 per PCI- patient.

"This study shows that PCI is a cost-effective treatment that improves the quality-of-life-adjusted survival for patients with a complete remission of small-cell lung cancer," said Dr. Tai. The author would like to acknowledge all staff in Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (including the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic) for the assistance in preparation of this important study.

To arrange an interview with the lead author of the study, T.H. Patricia Tai, M.B., B.S., please contact her at the Allan Blair Cancer Center at (306) 766-2288 or e-mail Dr. Tai at [email protected]. For more information, please call Lesley Nevers at (703) 227-0141 or e-mail her at [email protected].

The International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics is the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with 7,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.

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