BARCELONA—Handgrip strength (HGS) was found to be an independent quantitative marker for overall survival among patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in a study discussed at the 2018 European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO 37) conference.
ABSTRACT: PV-0041 Hand grip strength: independent prognostic selection test for OS in stage I NSCLC treated with SBRT
The investigators used a handgrip strength test before patients were treated with SBRT and followed them up for survival. First author Stéphanie Peeters MD PhD, a radiation oncologist from the MAASTRO Clinic in Maastricht, Netherlands tells the Audio Journal of Onclogy how they saw that there was indeed a correlation between a weak handgrip strength and overall survival and only 12 per cent of patients with handgrip weakness were alive five years later compared with 40 per cent of those who had normal handgrip.
The President of ESTRO Yolande Lievens MD PhD, head of the department of radiation oncology at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium, comments about the study findings.
