Does coronary artery calcium score have an impact on overall survival for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Agon Olloni
  • Carsten Brink
  • Ebbe L. Lorenzen
  • Stefan S. Jeppesen
  • Lone Hoffmann
  • Charlotte Kristiansen
  • Marianne M. Knap
  • Ditte S. Møller
  • Lotte Nygård
  • Persson, Gitte
  • Rune S. Thing
  • Hella MB Sand
  • Axel Diederichsen
  • Tine Schytte

Background and purpose: Coronary artery calcium score (CACs) is an excellent marker for survival in non-cancer patients, but its role in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) patients remains uncertain. In this study, we hypothesize that CACs is a prognostic marker for survival in a competing risk analysis in LA-NSCLC patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. Materials and methods: We included 644 patients with LA-NSCLC treated in 2014-2015 in Denmark. Baseline patient characteristics were derived from the Danish Lung Cancer Registry. Radiotherapy planning CT scans were used for manual CACs measurements, and the patients were divided into four groups, CACs 0, 1-99, 100-399, and ≥400. A multivariable Cox model utilizing bootstrapping for cross-validation modeled overall survival (OS). Results: The median follow-up time was seven years, and the median OS was 26 months (95% CI 24-29). Within each CAC group 0, 1-99, 100-399, and ≥400 were 172, 182, 143, and 147 patients, respectively. In the univariable analysis, the survival decreased with increasing CACs. However, after adjustment for age, PS, radiotherapy dose, and logarithmic GTV, CACs did not have a statistically significant impact on OS with hazard ratios of 1.04 (95% CI 0.85-1.28), 1.11 (95%CI 0.89-1.43), and 1.16 (95%CI 0.92-1.47) for CACs 1-99, CACs 100-399 and ≥400, respectively. Elevated CACs was observed in 73 % of the patients suggesting a high risk of cardiac comorbidity before radiotherapy. Conclusion: CACs did not add prognostic information to our population's classical risk factors, such as tumor volume, performance status, and age; the lung cancer has the highest priority despite the risk of baseline cardiac comorbidity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number109719
JournalRadiotherapy and Oncology
Volume185
ISSN0167-8140
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier B.V.

    Research areas

  • Coronary artery calcium score, Definitive radiotherapy, Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, National retrospective cohort study

ID: 357332657