Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30710323›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging2019

Pretreatment metabolic tumour volume in stage IIIA/B non-small-cell lung cancer uncovers differences in effectiveness of definitive radiochemotherapy schedules: analysis of the ESPATUE randomized phase 3 trial.

Maja Guberina, Wilfried Eberhardt, Martin Stuschke, Thomas Gauler, Clemens Aigner, Martin Schuler, Georgios Stamatis, Dirk Theegarten, Walter Jentzen, Ken Herrmann and 1 more

Abstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Integration of Circulating Tumor DNA and Metabolic Parameters onAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. [Scientific reports · 2022
    Article
  7. SUVmax-Δ makes the difference.Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2022
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Maja GuberinaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Wilfried EberhardtDepartment of Medical Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Martin StuschkeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122, Essen, Germany. martin.stuschke@uk-essen.de.
Thomas GaulerDepartment of Radiation Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Clemens AignerGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site University Hospital Essen, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Martin SchulerDepartment of Medical Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Georgios StamatisDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Ruhrlandklinik, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, 45239, Essen, Germany.
Dirk TheegartenDepartment of Pathology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Walter JentzenDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Ken HerrmannGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site University Hospital Essen, 45122, Essen, Germany.
Christoph PöttgenDepartment of Radiation Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122, Essen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9224-9318
University of Duisburg-Essen · DEEssen University Hospital · DERuhrlandklinik · DE

Funding

Deutsche Krebshilfe 70-3070-Eb
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAccording to the ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235 trial, pretreatment metabolic tumour volume (MTV) as detected by

methodsThis analysis included patients who were staged by PET/CT and who were enrolled in the ESPATUE trial, a randomized study comparing definitive RCT (arm A) with surgery (arm B) after induction chemotherapy and RCT in patients with resectable stage IIIA/IIIB NSCLC. Patients refusing surgery and those with nonresectable disease were scheduled to receive definitive RCT. MTV was measured using a fixed threshold-based approach and a model-based iterative volume thresholding approach. Data were analysed using proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier survival functions.

resultsMTV as a continuous variable did not reveal differences in survival between the 117 patients scheduled to receive definitive RCT and all 169 enrolled patients who underwent pretreatment PET/CT (p > 0.5). Five-year survival rates were 33% (95% CI 17-49%) in patients scheduled for definitive RCT with a high MTV (>95.4 ml) and 32% (95% CI: 22-42%) in those with a low MTV. The hazard ratio for survival was 0.997 (95% CI 0.973-1.022) per 10-ml increase in MTV and the slope was significantly shallower than that in the ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235 trial (random effects model, p = 0.002). There were no differences in MTV size distributions between the ACRIN and ESPATUE trials (p = 0.97).

conclusionPatients with stage III NSCLC and a large MTV in whom definitive RCT had a particularly good survival in the ESPATUE trial. Treatment individualization according to MTV is not supported by this study. The ESPATUE and ACRIN trials differed by the use of cisplatin-containing induction chemotherapy and an intensified radiotherapy regimen that were particularly effective in patients with large MTV disease.

Indexed as

Positron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyAdultAgedCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungChemoradiotherapyCombined Modality TherapyFemaleFluorodeoxyglucose F18GermanyHumansInduction ChemotherapyKaplan-Meier EstimateLung NeoplasmsMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingFluorodeoxyglucose F18RadiopharmaceuticalsInductionMTVNSCLCPrognostic markerStage III

Identifiers

PMID30710323
OpenAlexW2913897486

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.