Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes

Habermann, Felix-Nikolai Oschinka Jegor; Schmitt, Daniela; Failing, Thomas; Fischer, Jann; Ziegler, David Alexander; Fischer, Laura Anna; Alt, Niklas Josua; Muster, Julian; Donath, Sandra; Hille, Andrea; Schirmer, Markus Anton; Guhlich, Manuel; El Shafie, Rami A.; Rieken, Stefan; Leu, Martin; Dröge, Leif Hendrik

doi:10.3390/curroncol29020092

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Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes

by

Felix-Nikolai Oschinka Jegor Habermann

^1,2,

Daniela Schmitt

^1,2

,

Thomas Failing

^1,2,

Jann Fischer

^1,2,

David Alexander Ziegler

^1,2,

Laura Anna Fischer

^1,2,

Niklas Josua Alt

^1,2,

Julian Muster

^1,2,

Sandra Donath

^1,2,

Andrea Hille

^1,2,

Markus Anton Schirmer

^1,2

,

Manuel Guhlich

^1,2,

Rami A. El Shafie

^1,2,

Stefan Rieken

^1,2,

Martin Leu

^1,2 and

Leif Hendrik Dröge

^1,2,*

¹

Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany

²

Comprehensive Cancer Center Niedersachsen (CCC-N), University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Curr. Oncol. 2022, 29(2), 1080-1092; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020092

Submission received: 3 January 2022 / Revised: 29 January 2022 / Accepted: 11 February 2022 / Published: 13 February 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Care during COVID-19 Pandemic)

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Abstract

The pandemic raised a discussion about the postponement of medical interventions for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analyzed the characteristics of pretreatment diagnostic assessment in the pandemic and the influence of diagnostic assessment on outcomes. A total of 96 patients with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for NSCLC were included. The number of patients increased from mean 0.9 (2012–2019) to 1.45 per month in the COVID era (p < 0.05). Pandemic-related factors (contact reduction, limited intensive care unit resources) might have influenced clinical decision making towards SBRT. The time from pretreatment assessment (multidisciplinary tumor board decision, bronchoscopy, planning CT) to SBRT was longer during the COVID period (p < 0.05). Reduced services, staff shortage, or appointment management to mitigate infection risks might explain this finding. Overall survival, progression-free survival, locoregional progression-free survival, and distant progression-free survival were superior in patients who received a PET/CT scan prior to SBRT (p < 0.05). This supports that SBRT guidelines advocate the acquisition of a PET/CT scan. A longer time from PET/CT scan/conventional staging to SBRT (<10 vs. ≥10 weeks) was associated with worse locoregional control (p < 0.05). The postponement of diagnostic or therapeutic measures in the pandemic should be discussed cautiously. Patient- and tumor-related features should be evaluated in detail.

Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer; stereotactic body radiation therapy; diagnostic assessment; staging examinations; positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan; pandemic; coronavirus disease 2019; outcomes

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MDPI and ACS Style

Habermann, F.-N.O.J.; Schmitt, D.; Failing, T.; Fischer, J.; Ziegler, D.A.; Fischer, L.A.; Alt, N.J.; Muster, J.; Donath, S.; Hille, A.; et al. Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes. Curr. Oncol. 2022, 29, 1080-1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020092

AMA Style

Habermann F-NOJ, Schmitt D, Failing T, Fischer J, Ziegler DA, Fischer LA, Alt NJ, Muster J, Donath S, Hille A, et al. Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes. Current Oncology. 2022; 29(2):1080-1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020092

Chicago/Turabian Style

Habermann, Felix-Nikolai Oschinka Jegor, Daniela Schmitt, Thomas Failing, Jann Fischer, David Alexander Ziegler, Laura Anna Fischer, Niklas Josua Alt, Julian Muster, Sandra Donath, Andrea Hille, and et al. 2022. "Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes" Current Oncology 29, no. 2: 1080-1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020092

APA Style

Habermann, F.-N. O. J., Schmitt, D., Failing, T., Fischer, J., Ziegler, D. A., Fischer, L. A., Alt, N. J., Muster, J., Donath, S., Hille, A., Schirmer, M. A., Guhlich, M., El Shafie, R. A., Rieken, S., Leu, M., & Dröge, L. H. (2022). Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes. Current Oncology, 29(2), 1080-1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020092

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Patterns of Pretreatment Diagnostic Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Special Characteristics in the COVID Pandemic and Influence on Outcomes

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