Sarna L et al. (2008) Clinically meaningful differences in patient-reported outcomes with amifostine in combination with chemoradiation for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: an analysis of RTOG 9801. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 72: 1378–1384

Patient-reported outcomes provide important information regarding quality of life and symptom control. Radiation therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is known to be associated with pain and difficulty in swallowing. Assessment of these adverse effects by physicians can be different from the patient's own experience. Sarna and colleagues studied 138 patients from the Radiation Oncology Therapy Group trial 9801 to assess the changes in quality of life and symptoms in patients with stage II–III NSCLC treated with amifostine as induction therapy before radiation therapy. The authors hypothesized that patients who received amifostine would have improved quality of life and less pain than those without this treatment. Data were analyzed at baseline and 6 weeks after treatment with amifostine.

Patients treated with amifostine reported improvements in pain symptoms and less difficulty swallowing compared with those not treated with amifostine. These patients also reported less weight loss. Clinician-rated assessments, however, were not significantly different between treatment groups.

The authors conclude that, in addition to clinician-rated assessments, this study shows that patients' evaluations of symptoms such as pain and difficulty swallowing provide valuable information on treatment from their perspective. Amifostine reduced the pain and swallowing symptoms associated with radiation therapy for NSCLC.