Hyperthermia correlates with low incidence of radiation pneumonitis after thoracic radiotherapy: a retrospective study

Abstract Objective This study aims to investigate the impact of radiotherapy combined with hyperthermia (RHT) on the incidence of radiation pneumonitis (RP) in patients with thoracic malignancies. Method This study enrolled 233 patients with thoracic malignancies admitted from 2017 to 2020 as the subjects of observation. According to different treatment regimens, patients were divided into the RHT group (N = 114) and the radiotherapy group (RT) (N = 119). The follow-up phase lasted three months before the start of radiotherapy and continued for six months after treatment. Evaluate and compare the incidence of RP in both groups. Results In individuals with a lung volume receiving more than 20 Gy (V20 > 20%), the incidence of grade ≥ 2 RP was observed to be 33.33% in the RHT group, compared to 55.32% in the RT group. This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.034). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the number of hyperthermia times and the incidence of RP (P = 0.043). Multivariate analysis revealed that factors such as gender, performance status (PS) score, and the number of hyperthermia times were significantly associated with the incidence of grade ≥ 2 RP. Conclusion In patients with V20 > 20%, hyperthermia can significantly reduce the incidence of grade ≥ 2 RP in patients undergoing thoracic radiotherapy.