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Objectives: The recommended treatment for limited‐stage small‐cell lung cancer (LS‐SCLC) is a combination of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) and etoposide plus cisplatin (EP) chemotherapy, typically administered over 4–6 cycles. Nonetheless, the optimal duration of chemotherapy is still not determined. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients with LS‐SCLC who received either 6 cycles or 4–5 cycles of EP chemotherapy combined with TRT. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we utilized data from our prior prospective trial to analyze the outcomes of 265 LS‐SCLC patients who received 4–6 courses of EP combined with concurrent accelerated hyperfractionated TRT between 2002 and 2017. Patients were categorized into two groups depending on their number of chemotherapy cycles: 6 or 4–5 cycles. To assess overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS), we employed the Kaplan–Meier method after conducting propensity score matching (PSM). Results: Among the 265 LS‐SCLC patients, 60 (22.6%) received 6 cycles of EP chemotherapy, while 205 (77.4%) underwent 4–5 cycles. Following PSM (53 patients for each group), the patients in the 6 cycles group exhibited a significant improvement in OS and PFS in comparison to those in the 4–5 cycles group [median OS: 29.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.6–53.1 months) vs. 22.7 months (95% CI, 20.8–29.1 months), respectively, p = 0.019; median PFS: 17.9 months (95% CI, 13.7–30.5 months) vs. 12.0 months (95% CI, 9.8–14.2 months), respectively, p = 0.006]. The two‐year and five‐year OS rates were 60.38% and 29.87% in the 6 cycles group, whereas 47.17% and 15.72% in the 4–5 cycles group, respectively. Conclusion: Patients diagnosed with LS‐SCLC who were treated with EP regimen chemotherapy combined with TRT exhibited notably enhanced survival when administered 6 cycles of chemotherapy, as compared to those who underwent only 4–5 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimal treatment for the rare subtype of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, extranodal natural killer/T‐cell lymphoma (ENKTL), nasal‐type, has not been clearly defined. The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of sequential and "Sandwich" chemotherapy and extended involved‐field intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in patients with stage IE/IIE extranodal ENKTL, nasal‐type. Methods: One hundred and fifty‐five patients with stage IE/IIE nasal‐type ENKTL were enrolled in the study, including 99 patients treated with sequential chemotherapy and extended involved‐field IMRT (SCRT) and 56 patients with "Sandwich" chemotherapy and extended involved‐field IMRT and chemotherapy (SCRCT). All patients were treated with extended involved‐field IMRT with median dose of 54.6 Gy to the primary tumor and positive lymph nodes. Ninety‐four patients had Ann Arbor stage IE disease, and 61 patients had stage IIE disease. Results: The 5‐year rates of loco‐regional recurrence (LRR), progression‐free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were 17.0%, 78.5%, and 84.7%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that EBV DNA copy after treatment (normal vs elevated level) was significant prognostic factor for LRR, PFS, and OS (P < 0.001); therapeutic method (SCRT vs SCRCT) was significant prognostic factor for PFS (71.0% vs 91.8%, P = 0.011), but there was no significant effect on 5‐year LRR and OS (22.2% vs 8.2%, P = 0.051 for LRR; 80.9% vs 91.8%, P = 0.199 for OS). Conclusions: Compared with SCRT, SCRCT was significantly associated with higher PFS rates and showed a trend toward improved loco‐regional control. EBV DNA copy after treatment is a good index for recurrence and prognosis for stage IE/IIE ENKTL patients. Compared with sequential chemotherapy (Ch) and extended involved‐field intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (EIF‐IMRT), "Sandwich" Ch and EIF‐IMRT and Ch were significantly associated with higher PFS rates and showed a trend toward improved loco‐regional control. EBV DNA copy after treatment is a good index for recurrence and prognosis for stage IE/IIE ENKTL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study retrospectively investigated asparaginase-based chemotherapy treatment outcomes with or without radiotherapy in 143 patients with stage IE-IIE extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma (ENKTCL). All patients received a median of three cycles of asparaginase-based chemotherapy, while 121 patients received radiotherapy following the chemotherapy. The complete remission (CR) rate for all patients post-chemotherapy was 58.7%, and rose to 73.4% by the end of treatment. Patients who received radiotherapy achieved better survival outcomes than those who did not (89.7% vs. 49.0% for 2-year overall survival (OS), P<0.001; 86.8% vs. 37.4% for 2-year progression-free survival (PFS), P<0.001). Additionally, even patients who achieved CR post-chemotherapy exhibited differential survival rates with or without radiotherapy (90.8% vs. 60% for 2-year OS, P=0.006; 86.1% vs. 60% for 2-year PFS, P=0.044). Multivariate analysis revealed that radiotherapy was an independent factor favoring OS (HR=0.098, 95%CI=0.031-0.314, P=0.001) and PFS (HR=0.156, 95%CI=0.062-0.396, P=0.001). Thus, radiotherapy is recommended for stage IE-IIE ENKTCL patients treated with asparaginase-based chemotherapy, even in cases of CR following chemotherapy.