Lung cancer treatment outcomes in recipients of lung transplant

Lung transplant recipients develop lung cancer more commonly than the general population. The best treatment approach for these patients is unclear. The goal of this study is to evaluate treatment outcomes in this population.

We used the Cleveland Clinic lung transplant database to identify patients diagnosed with lung cancer at the time of or after lung transplant. Transplant and lung cancer-related data were retrospectively reviewed.

Among 847 patients underwent lung transplant between 2005 and 2013, 17 (2%) were diagnosed with lung cancer and included. Median age was 61 (range, 48-70) years. Majority were stage I/II (n=11), one had stage IIIA, five had stage IV. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were more common than small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (n=15 vs. 2). Curative treatment was performed as lobectomy in native lung (n=1), and radiation in transplanted lung (n=2). Chemotherapy was given in 10 patients, primarily carboplatin-based doublets with docetaxel, pemetrexed, or etoposide. Six of these received palliative chemotherapy for either metastases at diagnosis (n=3) or recurrence after early stage disease (n=3). Except for one patient with complete response, all others had progressive disease following palliative chemotherapy. Overall, patients who received chemotherapy had a median survival of 7.5 months from the initiation of chemotherapy, but 30% developed grade 5 sepsis. Median survival for stage I-IIIA and stage IV were 23.2 and 2.5 months respectively.

Lung cancer in lung transplant recipients carries various clinical courses. Patients with metastatic disease have substantial toxicities from chemotherapy and poor survival. Early stage patients should be offered treatment with modified dosages to decrease the risk of severe toxicities.