Inhaled Corticosteroids to Reduce Radiation-Induced Pneumonitis Among Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Results from a phase 2 study demonstrated that the addition of inhaled corticosteroids with radiotherapy significantly reduced the incidence of radiation-induced pneumonitis among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
These results will be presented by Jie Zhang, MD, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China, at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress.
According to Dr Zhang and coauthors, “Thoracic radiotherapy plays an important role in comprehensive treatment for NSCLC…[however] about 30% of patients with lung or breast cancer receiving thoracic radiotherapy may present with radiation-induced pneumonitis…[which] remains poorly understood.”
In this study, 292 patients were randomized on a 1-to-1 basis to receive either radiotherapy concurrently with belomethasone propionate once daily (prevention group, n = 142) or radiotherapy alone (control group, n = 150). The primary end point was incidence of radiation pneumonitis. Key secondary end points included objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and toxicity.
The incidence of all grade radiation pneumonitis was 35.3% in the prevention group and 52.8% in the control group (P = .03) and the incidence of grade ≥3 radiation pneumonitis was 12% and 28.2% (P = .01), respectively. The ORR was 40.9% in the prevention group and 35.9% in the control group (P = .65). At a follow-up of 2 years, no OS difference was observed (P = .425) and the incidence of hyperglycemia was higher in the prevention group than in the control group (P = .025).
“The addition of inhaled corticosteroids to radiotherapy significantly reduced the incidence of radiation-induced pneumonitis in [patients] with NSCLC,” concluded Dr Zhang et al. These results “warrant further confirmation by phase III clinical studies.”
Source:
Zhang J, Wu Q, Wu H, et al. The addition of belomethason propionate inhalation to radical radiotherapy for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A randomized controlled, open-label phase II study. Presented at the 2024 ESMO Congress; September 13-17, 2024. Barcelona, Spain. Abstract 1242MO
