Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Simultaneous Boost Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy With 3 Dose Gradients in Patients With Stage I-II Nasal Type Natural Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma: LongTerm Outcomes of Survival and Quality of Life

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment results and long-term quality of life in patients with early -stage extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma who were prospectively treated with simultaneous boost intensity modulated radiation therapy (SIB-IMRT) with 3 dose gradients. Methods and Materials: Sixty patients with stage I -II nasal cavity natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) and Waldeyer's ring NKTCL were enrolled in a single -arm, prospective, phase 2 clinical trial from August 2011 to April 2015. All patients were treated with definitive radiation therapy combined with short -course induction chemotherapy. A newly designed SIBIMRT scheme was uniformly adopted, with 54.6 Gy for the gross tumor volume (GTV) of the primary tumor and GTV of the positive lymph nodes, 50.7 Gy for the high -risk clinical target volume (CTV), and 45.5 Gy for the low -risk CTV, all delivered in 26 daily fractions. Before SIB-IMRT, L-asparaginase-based induction chemotherapy was used in 95.0% (57/60) of patients. Results: With a median follow-up time of 95.8 months, the 5 -year locoregional recurrence -free survival, progression -free survival, and overall survival rates were 83.3%, 81.7%, and 88.3%, respectively. Dosimetric analysis in the first 21 patients showed satisfying conformality for planning target volume of GTV, high -risk CTV, and low -risk CTV, while the organs at risk were well protected. The results of long-term quality -of -life investigations in patients without progression were favorable, and nasal discomfort was the most common symptom. No grade 3 or 4 acute or late toxicities were observed. Conclusions: The scheme of target volume delineation and dose setting that we designed has favorable clinical effects with mild side effects in treating patients with stage I -II nasal cavity NKTCL and Waldeyer's ring NKTCL. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)