Effectiveness of palliative hemostatic radiotherapy for hemoptysis: a prospective single-arm observation study.

Abstract

Background: Palliative radiotherapy (RT) is commonly used for malignancy-associated hemoptysis. This study aims to determine RT control probability, durability, and influencing factors.

Methods: This single-institution prospective observational study included patients ≥18 years old with any lung malignancy and active hemoptysis. Hemoptysis severity was captured and monitored via Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) and an in-house developed Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) tool. Patients were interviewed at enrollment, 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-treatment. Descriptive statistics, the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Cox regression models were used.

Results: From April 2016 to November 2018, 41 patients were enrolled. One patient withdrew consent and was excluded. The median age was 68 years. Most patients were male (67%) with stage 4 (87.5%), lung primary (85%) disease, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥2 (55%). The most common fractionation scheme (72.5%) was 2,000 cGy in 5 fractions. Eight patients (20%) passed away before 2-week assessment. Median follow-up was 6.1 months (range, 0.9-6.2 months). The 6-month overall survival (OS) rate was 26% [95% confidence interval (CI): 13-41%]. The 6-month bleeding-related survival (BRS) was 95% (95% CI: 80-99%), and the 6-month freedom from hemoptysis rate was 37% (95% CI: 18-57%). No patient received re-irradiation for their hemoptysis. On univariate analysis, ECOG status (P=0.01) and prior radiation (P=0.006) were strongly associated with freedom from hemoptysis survival.

Conclusions: Hemostatic RT remains an effective modality for controlling hemoptysis. The short interval high mortality rate post-RT challenges whether fractionated palliative RT should be used for this patient population. Conducting a large clinical trial with a hemoptysis PROM tool is necessary to identify hemostatic durability and influencing factors properly.