BackgroundOne of the primary dose-limiting toxicities during thoracic irradiation is acute esophagitis (AE). The aim of this study is to investigate dosimetric and clinical predictors for AE grade ≥ 2 in patients treated with accelerated radiotherapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Patients and methods66 NSCLC patients were included in the present analysis: 4 stage II, 44 stage IIIA and 18 stage IIIB. All patients received induction chemotherapy followed by dose differentiated accelerated radiotherapy (DART-bid). Depending on size (mean of three perpendicular diameters) tumors were binned in four dose groups: <2.5 cm 73.8 Gy, 2.5–4.5 cm 79.2 Gy, 4.5–6 cm 84.6 Gy, >6 cm 90 Gy. Patients were treated in 3D target splitting technique. In order to estimate the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), two Lyman models and the cutoff-logistic regression model were fitted to the data with AE ≥ grade 2 as statistical endpoint. Inter-model comparison was performed with the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc), which calculates the model’s quality of fit (likelihood value) in relation to its complexity (i.e. number of variables in the model) corrected by the number of patients in the dataset. Toxicity was documented prospectively according to RTOG.ResultsThe median follow up was 686 days (range 84–2921 days), 23/66 patients (35 %) experienced AE ≥ grade 2. The actuarial local control rates were 72.6 % and 59.4 % at 2 and 3 years, regional control was 91 % at both time points. The Lyman-MED model (D50 = 32.8 Gy, m = 0.48) and the cutoff dose model (Dc = 38 Gy) provide the most efficient fit to the current dataset. On multivariate analysis V38 (volume of the esophagus that receives 38 Gy or above, 95 %-CI 28.2–57.3) was the most significant predictor of AE ≥ grade 2 (HR = 1.05, CI 1.01–1.09, p = 0.007).ConclusionFollowing high-dose accelerated radiotherapy the rate of AE ≥ grade 2 is slightly lower than reported for concomitant radio-chemotherapy with the additional benefit of markedly increased loco-regional tumor control. In the current patient cohort the most significant predictor of AE was found to be V38. A second clinically useful parameter in treatment planning may be MED (mean esophageal dose).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13014-015-0429-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundTo date, patients with glioblastoma still have a bad median overall survival rate despite radiation dose-escalation and combined modality treatment. Neurocognitive decline is a crucial adverse event which may be linked to high doses to the cortex. In a planning study, we investigated the impact of dose constraints to the cerebral cortex and its relation to the organs at risk for glioblastoma patients.MethodsCortical sparing was implemented into the optimization process for two planning approaches: classical intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and robust treatment planning. The plans with and without objectives for cortex sparing where compared based on dose-volume histograms (DVH) data of the main organs at risk. Additionally the cortex volume above a critical threshold of 28.6 Gy was elaborated. Furthermore, IMRT plans were compared with robust treatment plans regarding potential cortex sparing.ResultsCortical dose constraints result in a statistically significant reduced cerebral cortex volume above 28.6 Gy without negative effects to the surrounding organs at risk independently of the optimization technique. For IMRT we found a mean volume reduction of doses beyond the threshold of 19%, and 16% for robust treatment planning, respectively. Robust plans delivered sharper dose gradients around the target volume in an order of 3 – 6%. Aside from that the integration of cortical sparing into the optimization process has the potential to reduce the dose around the target volume (4 – 8%).ConclusionsWe were able to show that dose to the cerebral cortex can be significantly reduced both with robust treatment planning and IMRT while maintaining clinically adequate target coverage and without corrupting any organ at risk. Robust treatment plans delivered more conformal plans compared to IMRT and were superior in regards to cortical sparing.

BackgroundTo report acute and late toxicity with long-term follow-up, and to describe our experiences with pulmonary dose constraints.MethodsBetween 2002 and 2009, 150 patients with 155 histologically/cytologically proven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; tumor stages II, IIIA, IIIB in 6, 55 and 39%, respectively) received the following median doses: primary tumors 79.2 Gy (range 72.0–90.0 Gy), lymph node metastases 59.4 Gy (54.0–73.8 Gy), nodes electively 45 Gy; with fractional doses of 1.8 Gy twice daily (bid). In all, 86% of patients received 2 cycles of chemotherapy previously.ResultsFive treatment-related deaths occurred: pneumonitis, n = 1; progressive pulmonary fibrosis in patients with pre-existing pulmonary fibrosis, n = 2; haemorrhage, n = 2. In all, 8% of patients experienced grade 3 and 1.3% grade 4 pneumonitis; 11% showed late fibrotic alterations grade 2 in lung parenchyma. Clinically relevant acute esophagitis (grade 2 and 3) was seen in 33.3% of patients, 2 patients developed late esophageal stenosis (G3). Patients with upper lobe, middle lobe and central lower lobe tumours (n = 130) were treated with V20 (total lung) up to 50% and patients with peripheral lower lobe tumours (n = 14, basal lateral tumours excluded) up to 42%, without observing acute or late pulmonary toxicity >grade 3. Only patients with basal lateral lower lobe tumours (n = 5) experienced grade 4/5 pulmonary toxicity; V20 for this latter group ranged between 30 and 53%. The mean lung dose was below the QUANTEC recommendation of 20–23 Gy in all patients. The median follow-up time of all patients is 26.3 months (range 2.9–149.4) and of patients alive 80.2 months (range 63.9–149.4.). The median overall survival time of all patients is 26.3 months; the 2-, 5- and 8‑year survival rates of 54, 21 and 15%, respectively. The local tumour control rate at 2 and 5 years is 70 and 64%, the regional control rate 90 and 88%, respectively.Discussion and conclusionGrade 4 or 5 toxicity occurred in 7/150 patients (4.7%), which can be partially avoided in the future (e.g. by excluding patients with pre-existing pulmonary fibrosis). Tolerance and oncologic outcome compare favourably to concomitant chemoradiation also in long-term follow-up.

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