(237) SURVIVAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LUNG CANCER PATIENTS TREATED WITH RADIATION THERAPY

David Sherman, M.D.,l Anthony J. Piro, M.D.,2 Samuel Hellman, M.D.3

1 Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Vincent Hospital, 25 Winthrop St.,

Worcester, MA 01604 2 Department of Therapeutic Radiology, New England Medical Center Hospital

Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02211

3 Joint Center for Radiation Therapy and Department of Radiation Therapy,

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115

This report examines the characteristics of long-term survivors of lung cancer primarily treated with radiation therapy. There were 66 such patients treated between July 1968 and December 1975, who survived greater than 18 months. Of these, there are 31 patients who are NED from 18 to 96 months with a median survival of 34 months, and 35 patients are dead of disease. Of those 35 patients, there were 13 (36%) who failed with locally recurrent disease. This was related to dose in that 50% (4/8) occurred in patients receiving 4000 to 5000 rad, 22% (6/27) in those receiving 5000 to 5500 rad, and 10% (.3/31) in patients who received 5500 to 6000 rad. Of the latter group, there were 20 patients who received 6000 rad with a local failure rate of l/20 (5%). Treatment technique was also critical, in that the use of treatment planning with simulation might have eliminated 46% (6/13) of the local failures. Treatment related complications (8%) included 1 patient with esophageal fibrosis, 2 with radiation pneumonitis, 1 with persistent shortness of breath, and 1 patient with a partial transverse myelitis. This complication was incurred prior to the availability of the simulator, and we feel would have been avoided with its use. We conclude that while most patients with advanced lung carcinoma will die of distant disease, there are a significant number of patients who will achieve long-term survival, when treated with high dose radiation therapy. For this group of patients, treatment technique with simulation is critical for it permits the delivery of the necessary high doses of radiation while incurring a low complication rate. This will become even more important if distant metastases can be prevented by adjuvant systemic treatment since then the consequences of local therapy will affect a much larger patient population.

(238) GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Jaidev C. Soni, Walid Hindo, Stefano Stefani

Therapeutic Radiology Service Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois 60141

The records of 70 patients (67 males, 3 females) with proven glioblastoma multiforme (astrocytoma grade III and IV), admitted at Hines VA Hospital from 1970 to 1975 were analyzed with respect to their presenting symptoms, the diagnostic procedures used, performance status at admission, location of the tumors and survival. Of these 70 patients, 38 (54%) were treated with

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