Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics and statistical analysis. IS non-responders were defined as patients with no significant improvement of clinical symptoms to the inhalative therapy after 2 weeks
| Inhalative steroid non-responders | Inhalative steroid responders | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n = 6 | n = 18 | ||
| Median age (years) | 63.3 | 65.2 | 0.680 |
| Range (years) | 52–74 | 50–82 | |
| Gender | 0.651 | ||
| Male | 4 | 12 | |
| Female | 2 | 6 | |
| UICC stage | |||
| IB | 0 | 1 | 0.762 |
| IIB | 1 | 2 | 0.696 |
| IIIA | 0 | 4 | 0.304 |
| IIIB | 2 | 4 | 0.662 |
| IV | 4 | 5 | 0.182 |
| Histological type | 0 | 6 | |
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 2 | 8 | 0.545 |
| Adenocarcinoma | 3 | 6 | 0.283 |
| Smoking status | |||
| Non-smoker | 1 | 4 | 0.634 |
| Former smoker | 5 | 13 | 0.520 |
| Current smoker | 0 | 1 | 0.750 |
| Pack years (average) | 52 | 47 | 0.131 |
| Pre-existing COPD | 2 | 7 | 0.603 |
| ECOG status before radiotherapy | 0 | 0.590 | |
| 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| Spirometry before radiotherapy | |||
| FEV1 (average, l) | 1.73 | 1.8 | 0.705 |
| VC (average, l) | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0.544 |
| RAWtot (average, kPas/l) | 2.28 | 3.0 | 0.630 |
| pO2 (average, mmHg) | 70 | 67 | 0.686 |
| pCO2 (average, mmHg) | 36.8 | 40.1 | 0.207 |
| HbCO (average, %) | 0.3 | 2.2 | 0.077 |
| Hb (average, g/dl) | 15.45 | 14.05 | 0.424 |
| DLCO (average, mmol/min/kPa) | 4.4 | 4.8 | 0.701 |
| Median total dose (Gy) | 59 | 63 | 0.537 |
| Mean lung dose (Gy) | 14.9 | 15.4 | 0.475 |
| Range | 8–20 | 3–23 | |
| Chemotherapeutic regimen | |||
| None | 1 | 2 | 0.597 |
| Concurrent | 4 | 16 | 0.366 |
| Sequential | 1 | 0 | 0.730 |