[Impact of diabetes mellitus on clinicopathological factors and relation with radiation pneumonitis in 332 patients with lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relation between diabetes mellitus and clinicopathological factors and the incidence of radiation pneumonitis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS

The data of 332 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, who were admitted to the Department of Oncology of Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between January 2007 and August 2009, were collected retrospectively. The patients were divided into a diabetes mellitus (DM) group (n=45) and a non-diabetes mellitus (NDM) group (n=287). The clinicopathological factors were compared between the two groups. The patients who received radiotherapy were further divided into a diabetes mellitus (DMR) group (n=33) and a non-diabetes mellitus group (NDMR) group(n=287), and the incidence of radiation pneumonitis was compared.

RESULTS

A total of 45 patients (13.55%)developed diabetes mellitus. There was significant difference in the body-weight, age and hypertension (P<0.05), while no significant difference in the pathologic factors, such as tumor pathological type, degree of differentiation, and classification of malignant tumors (TNM) stage between the two groups(P>0.05). No significant difference in the irradiation area was found between the DM group and the NDM group(P>0.05). The incidence of radiation pneumonitis in the DMR group was 42.42%(14 out of 33), while 21.31%(39 out of 183) in the NDMR group, with significant difference in the incidence of radiation pneumonitis between the DMR group and the NDMR group(P<0.05). The risk value in the DMR group was 2.721 folds (95%CI, 1.253-5.910) that in the NDMR group in patients with non-small cell lung cancer companied with diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSION

Diabetes mellitus is the risk factor of radiation pneumonitis for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer who receive radiotherapy.