Dose-volume parameters predict for the development of chest wall pain after stereotactic body radiation for lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Chest wall (CW) pain has recently been recognized as an important adverse effect of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We developed a dose-volume model to predict the development of this toxicity.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 126 patients with primary, clinically node-negative NSCLC received three to five fractions of SBRT to doses of 40-60 Gy and were prospectively followed. The dose-absolute volume histograms of two different definitions of the CW as an organ at risk (CW3cm and CW2cm) were examined for all 126 patients.

RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 16 months, the 2-year estimated actuarial incidence of Grade ≥ 2 CW pain was 39%. The median time to onset of Grade ≥ 2 CW pain (National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, Version 3.0) was 9 months. There was no predictive advantage for biologically corrected dose over physical dose. Neither fraction number (p = 0.07) nor prescription dose (p = 0.07) were significantly correlated with the development of Grade ≥ 2 CW pain. Cox Proportional Hazards analysis identified significant correlation with a broad range of dose-volume combinations, with the CW volume receiving 30 Gy (V30) as one of the strongest predictors (p < 0.001). CW2cm consistently enabled better prediction of CW toxicity. When a physical dose of 30 Gy was received by more than 70 cm(3) of CW2cm, there was a significant correlation with Grade ≥ 2 CW pain (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS: CW toxicity after SBRT is common and long-term follow-up is needed to identify affected patients. A volume of CW ≥ 70 cm(3) receiving 30 Gy is significantly correlated with Grade ≥ 2 CW pain. We are currently applying this constraint at our institution for patients receiving thoracic SBRT. An actuarial atlas of our data is provided as an electronic supplement to facilitate data-sharing and meta-analysis relating to CW pain.