Table 2.
Summary of the main studies on RT + chemotherapy (CRT) and RT + targeted therapy (TT)/immunotherapy (IT) in older patients. Survival outcomes and complications are reported. Abbreviations: R retrospective, NSCLC non-small cell lung cancer, HNC head and neck cancer, FU follow-up, OS overall survival, GI gastrointestinal, GU genitourinary.
| Authors | Year | Type of study | N. Pts |
Median age (range) | Histology | Type of therapy | Dose range Gy/fxs | Median FU (months) | Outcomes | Acute toxicities (%) | Late toxicities (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cai et al. [61] | 2013 | R | 126 | 75 (70–92) | Rectal cancer | CRT | 52.2 | 19 | 3-year OS 48.1% | - | - |
| Servagi-Vernat et al. [43] | 2015 | Phase 2 study | 30 | 85.2 (79.4–92) | Esophageal cancer | CRT | 50/25 | 36 | 3-year OS 22.2% | G > 4 toxicity (38) | - |
| Nosaka et al. [45] | 2016 | R | 49 | 75.4 (70–89) | Cervical cancer | CRT | 50.4/28 + 18–24 |
25.5 | Median OS 66.9 vs 60.1 months (CRT vs RT group) | G3/4 acute toxicities: hyponatremia (35), neutropenia (15), diarrhea (10) | - |
| Perry et al. [38] | 2017 | Trial | 562 | 73 (65–90) | Glioblastoma | CRT | 40/15 | 17 | Median OS 9.3 vs 7.6 months (CRT vs RT group) | G3/4 hematological toxicity (46.6) | - |
| Atagi et al. [62] | 2018 | Phase 3 trial | 200 | 77 | NSCLC | CRT | 60/30 | 19.4 | Median OS 22.4 vs 16.9 months (CRT vs RT group) | G4 hematological toxicity (26.4) | G3/4 lung toxicity (6.5) |
| Miller et al. [42] | 2018 | R | 23229 | 77.6 | NSCLC | CRT | 64.8/33 | 15.5 | Median OS 18.1 vs 12.2 (CRT vs RT group) | G > 3 hematological toxicity (89.9) | - |
| Lazzari et al. [58] | 2018 | Case report | 1 | 80 | NSCLC | RT + IT | 66/33 | 36 | - | G2 anemia and G3 febrile neutropenia | - |
| Müller von der Grün et al. [46] | 2018 | R | 158 | 65 | HNC | CRT | 70.6 | 29 | 3-year OS 50% | G > 3 hematological toxicity (18) | - |
| Lai et al. [63] | 2018 | R | 70 | 75 | HNC | CRT | 60-74/30-37 | - | Median OS 10.8 vs 11.4 months (CRT vs RT group) | G3/4 hematological toxicities: neutropenia (13.2), thrombocytopenia (5.3) |
- |
| Wang et al. [64] | 2019 | R | 1061 | 74 (70–88) | Cervical cancer | CRT | 50.4/28 + 30-36/5-7 |
28.9 | 3-year OS 71.9% | G3/4 hematological toxicity (58.1) | G3/4 GI toxicity (8.6) |
| Jingu et al. [65] | 2020 | R | 358 | 80 | Esophageal cancer | CRT | 50–60 | - | 3-year OS 22% | - | - |
| Lu et al. [47] | 2021 | R | 272 | 72 (65–88) | HNC | CRT | - | - | 5-year OS 61.8 vs 51.7 (CRT vs RT group) | - | - |