Journal Article

DKFZ-2026-02187

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Early and late CTCAE and patient-reported outcomes following lung cancer radiotherapy: A sex-stratified descriptive analysis from the REQUITE cohort.

Aguado-Barrera, M. E. ; Calvo-Crespo, P. ; Taboada-Valladares, B. ; Gomez-Caamaño, A. ; Carracedo, A. ; Azria, D. ; Briers, E. ; Chang-Claude, J.DKFZ* ; de Ruysscher, D. ; Defraene, G. ; Elliott, R. M. ; Faivre-Finn, C. ; Franceschini, M. ; Fuentes-Rios, O. ; Giraldo, A. ; Giandini, T. ; Gutiérrez-Enríquez, S. ; Heumann, P.DKFZ* ; Higginson, D. S. ; Johnson, K. ; Lambrecht, M. ; Lievens, Y. ; Mollà, M. ; Rancati, T. ; Rattay, T. ; Ramos, M. ; Rosenstein, B. S. ; Seibold, P.DKFZ* ; Sperk, E. ; Stobart, H. ; Symonds, P. ; Talbot, C. J. ; Vandecasteele, K. ; Veldeman, L. ; Ward, T. ; Webb, A. ; West, C. M. L. ; consortium, R. (Collaboration Author) ; Ana, V.

2026
Elsevier Amsterdam

Abstract: Long-term prospective data on lung cancer patients treated with radiotherapy are limited, restricting understanding of outcomes and sex-specific characteristics. The multicentre REQUITE study provides standardized follow-up data from an international cohort.We analysed longitudinal data from 530 lung cancer patients treated with radical radiotherapy (sequential or concurrent chemoradiotherapy, or stereotactic body radiation therapy [SBRT]) between 2014 and 2017 at 16 centres in Europe and the USA. Healthcare professionals prospectively recorded 21 pulmonary, oesophageal, neurological, cardiac, and skin adverse events using CTCAE v4.0. Patient-reported outcomes assessed symptoms, quality-of-life, fatigue, and physical activity. Adverse event incidence was stratified by sex, radiotherapy technique, chemotherapy administration, smoking status, and other clinical factors.At 12 months, 309 patients were evaluable, with 151 having follow-up beyond one year. Pulmonary adverse events were most frequent (40% grade ≥ 2), mainly dyspnoea and cough. Women had higher rates of oesophagitis, and more frequently reported dysphagia, and chest wall pain, while men experienced a higher frequency of cardiac adverse events. Exploratory subgroup analyses identified significant sex-related differences in grade ≥ 3 pulmonary adverse events following SBRT and in overall grade ≥ 2 oesophageal adverse events among patients with clinical stage I-II and those aged >70 years. Patient-reported outcomes showed persistent fatigue and reduced physical activity, particularly in females. Symptom prevalence and severity varied by sex, age, treatment modality, smoking status, and clinical stage.The REQUITE-Lung cohort provides prospectively collected real-world data on radiotherapy-related adverse events in lung cancer patients. This study describes patterns of adverse events and patient-reported outcomes according to sex, age, and treatment characteristics. These findings are hypothesis-generating and may support future validation in independent and pooled datasets.

Keyword(s): Patient-reported outcomes ; Prospective cohort study ; REQUITE ; Radiotherapy ; adverse events ; lung cancer ; sex-stratified analysis

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Epidemiologie von Krebs (C020)
2. Personalisierte Früherkennung des Prostatakarzinoms (C130)

Research Program(s):

1. 313 - Krebsrisikofaktoren und Prävention (POF4-313) (POF4-313)

Appears in the scientific report 2026

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Database coverage:
; ; Article Processing Charges ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Clinical Medicine ; DOAJ Seal ; Essential Science Indicators ; Fees ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; PubMed Central ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

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