Short-term clinical efficacy and adverse events of volumetric modulated arc therapy in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To evaluate the short-term clinical efficacy and adverse events of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods From January to December 2016, 58 patients (47 male and 11 female) with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC received concurrent or sequential chemoradiotherapy. The radiation dose was ranged from 38 Gy to 66 Gy. The radiation dose was equal or higher than 56 Gy in 53 patients (92%). The median radiotherapy fraction was 30, 1.8 Gy to 3.0 Gy for each fraction. Twenty-eight patients (48%) received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results The median follow-up time was 9 months. The 1-year overall survival (OS) rate was 84% and the 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 48%.Eleven patients (19%) suffered from symptomatic radiation pneumonitis and one of them died of radiation pneumonitis. Within 6 months after radiotherapy, 31 patients (53%) developed asymptomatic local pulmonary fibrosis on CT images. Seventeen patients (29%) suffered from grade Ⅱ esophagitis. Ten cases (17%) had ≥ grade Ⅲ adverse events and 9 of them presented with leucopenia. Conclusions VMAT yields high short-term clinical efficacy and tolerable adverse events in the treatment of locally advanced NSCLC, which does not increase the risk of pneumonitis. Key words: Lung neoplasm/volumetric modulated arc therapy; Treatment outcome; Radiation pneumonitis