Therapeutic effect of I¹²⁵ radioactive particles on non-small cell lung cancer

  Objective  To explore short-term therapeutic effect of I¹²⁵ radioactive particles implantation on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of ≤ 7 cm and > 7 cm in tumor diameter.

  Methods  We recruited 309 pathologically confirmed NSCLC patients (38 and 271 with the tumor of 7 cm and > 7 cm in diameter) who had their first visit to Liaoning People′s Hospital from October 2009 to January 2018. Then, we implanted I¹²⁵ radioactive particles (18G particles of 115 – 125 in number, 4.5 mm in length and 0.8 mm in diameter) into tumors under the guidance of 5 mm slice thickness continuous computed tomography (CT) scanning among all the patients and we conducted the implantation again two or three months later among the patients with the tumor of > 7 cm in diameter. Therapeutic effects of the implantation were observed one month after the treatment and compared between the two groups of the patients.

  Results  The overall effective rate was 83.2% (257/309) one month after the first implantation and the effective rate was significantly higher among the patients with the tumors of ≤ 7 cm in diameter than among those with the tumor of > 7 cm (89.3% vs. 39.5%, χ² = 59.1; P < 0.05). The therapeutic effect of the second implantation was significantly higher than that of the first one (χ² = 4.12, P < 0.05), but the short-term outcome of the treatment was poor among the patients with tumors of > 7 cm in diameter.

  Conclusion  I¹²⁵ radioactive seed implantation is of good therapeutic effect on NSCLC for the patients with the tumors of < 7 cm in diameter but the effect is poor for the patients with the tumors of > 7 cm and multiple implantations are required among the patients.