Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Reduces Treatment Time and Toxicity While Maintaining Survival in Limited-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

- A phase III trial of 530 patients across 16 Chinese hospitals demonstrated that three-week hypofractionated radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy provides comparable survival outcomes to standard six-week conventional radiotherapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer. - The hypofractionated approach significantly reduced severe treatment-related adverse events, with acute grade ≥3 toxicities occurring in 48.7% of patients compared to 67.7% in the conventional treatment group. - Median overall survival was 40.2 months for hypofractionated radiotherapy versus 47.9 months for conventional radiotherapy, with no statistically significant difference between groups. - The findings suggest hypofractionated radiotherapy could become a new standard of care, offering patients a more convenient treatment schedule with reduced toxicity while maintaining therapeutic efficacy.