Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34399793›Full record

Observational studyRadiation oncology (London, England)2021

Short-course compared to long-course palliative radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer: a single centre observational cohort study.

Halla Sif Ólafsdóttir, Fredrik Klevebro, Nelson Ndegwa, Gabriella Alexandersson von Döbeln

Abstract readComparative StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Radiation oncology (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. 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

4 authors.

Halla Sif ÓlafsdóttirDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52, Huddinge, Sweden. halla.sif.olafsdottir@ki.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7941-8834
Fredrik KlevebroDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52, Huddinge, Sweden.
Nelson NdegwaDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52, Huddinge, Sweden.
Gabriella Alexandersson von DöbelnDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52, Huddinge, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommon symptoms of oesophageal cancer are dysphagia, pain, and bleeding. These symptoms can be relieved with palliative radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to analyse the outcome of two different palliative radiotherapy schedules.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study on palliative radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer given at Karolinska University Hospital. Patients included were treated with either short-course (20 Gy in 4 Gy fractions daily, 5 consecutive workdays) or long-course (30-39 Gy in 3 Gy fractions, 10-13 consecutive workdays) palliative external beam radiotherapy between January 2009 and December 2013. The primary endpoint was dysphagia relief and secondary endpoints were adverse events, re-interventions, and overall survival. Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the effect of treatment schedule on survival.

resultsA total of 128 patients received external beam radiotherapy under the study period, of these 75 (58.6%) received short-course radiotherapy and 53 (41.4%) long-course radiotherapy. Sixteen (30.8%) patients experienced dysphagia relief after short-course radiotherapy and 9 (22.0%) patients after long-course radiotherapy (p = 0.341). Acute toxicity was less frequent after short-course radiotherapy than after long-course radiotherapy, particularly oesophagitis (35.4% vs. 56.0%, p = 0.027) and nausea/emesis (18.5% vs. 36.0% p = 0.034). Re-interventions tended to be more common after short-course radiotherapy (32.0%) than after long-course radiotherapy (18.9%) (p = 0.098). There was no difference in overall survival between the two groups.

conclusionsShort- and long-course palliative radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer were equally effective to relieve dysphagia and no difference was seen in overall survival. Acute toxicity was, however, more frequent and more severe after long-course radiotherapy. Our results suggest that short-course radiotherapy is better tolerated with equal palliative effects as long-course radiotherapy.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overEsophageal NeoplasmsFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRadiotherapy DosageRadiotherapy, Intensity-ModulatedRetrospective StudiesSurvival RateTime FactorsDose fractionationDysphagiaOesophageal neoplasmPalliative careRadiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID34399793
PMCPMC8365913

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.