{"entity":{"id":"rtog-0617","kind":"trial","name":"RTOG 0617","aka":[],"tldr":"RTOG 0617 is the trial that stopped dose escalation in lung cancer: patients given 74 Gy lived shorter than those given the standard 60 Gy, and cetuximab added nothing.","summary":"RTOG 0617 randomised 544 patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer receiving concurrent carboplatin-paclitaxel to 60 Gy or 74 Gy, with or without cetuximab. Median overall survival was 28.7 months with 60 Gy and 20.3 months with 74 Gy; the high-dose arm had more treatment-related deaths and higher heart dose, and cetuximab gave no benefit (Bradley and colleagues, Lancet Oncology 2015). The result fixed 60 Gy as the standard and drew attention to heart dose as a determinant of survival.","status":"negative","asOf":"2026-09-16","links":[{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00533949","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00533949"},{"label":"Lancet Oncology 2015","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71207-0"}],"tags":["radiation-wave2"],"related":[],"cancers":["nsclc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["imrt-igrt","radiosensitisers"],"targets":[],"drugs":["cetuximab","carboplatin","paclitaxel"],"companies":["nrg-oncology"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["chemoradiation","organs-at-risk"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-rtog-0617-lancet-oncol-2015"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"nct":"NCT00533949","phase":"3","setting":"Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer with concurrent chemotherapy: 74 Gy versus 60 Gy, with or without cetuximab","sponsor":"NRG Oncology (RTOG)","result":"Median overall survival 28.7 months (60 Gy) vs 20.3 months (74 Gy); cetuximab no benefit.","started":"2007-11","yearReported":2015,"enrolled":544,"enrolledBasis":"registry","outcomes":[{"endpoint":"Median overall survival","primary":true,"unit":"months","arms":[{"name":"60 Gy","n":217,"value":28.7},{"name":"74 Gy","n":207,"value":20.3}]}]},"route":"/trials/rtog-0617/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"lung-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Lung cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/lung-cancer/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"imrt-igrt","kind":"technology","name":"IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)","route":"/technologies/imrt-igrt/"},{"id":"radiosensitisers","kind":"technology","name":"Radiosensitisers","route":"/technologies/radiosensitisers/"}],"drug":[{"id":"carboplatin","kind":"drug","name":"Carboplatin","route":"/drugs/carboplatin/"},{"id":"cetuximab","kind":"drug","name":"Cetuximab","route":"/drugs/cetuximab/"},{"id":"paclitaxel","kind":"drug","name":"Paclitaxel / nab-paclitaxel","route":"/drugs/paclitaxel/"}],"company":[{"id":"nrg-oncology","kind":"company","name":"NRG Oncology","route":"/companies/nrg-oncology/"}],"term":[{"id":"chemoradiation","kind":"term","name":"Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT)","route":"/terms/chemoradiation/"},{"id":"lung-failed-programmes","kind":"term","name":"Lung cancer: the failed and stopped programmes, and why","route":"/terms/lung-failed-programmes/"},{"id":"organs-at-risk","kind":"term","name":"Organs at risk and dose constraints","route":"/terms/organs-at-risk/"},{"id":"trial-failure-modes","kind":"term","name":"Why trials fail: underpowered, wrong endpoint, control arm drift, subgroup fishing, crossover","route":"/terms/trial-failure-modes/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-rtog-0617-lancet-oncol-2015","kind":"paper","name":"Standard-dose versus high-dose conformal radiotherapy with concurrent and consolidation carboplatin plus paclitaxel with or without cetuximab for patients with stage IIIA or IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (RTOG 0617): a randomised, two-by-two factorial phase 3 study","route":"/key-papers/paper-rtog-0617-lancet-oncol-2015/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-bio1-upfront-bypass-combination","kind":"idea","name":"Add the second drug on day one when the escape route is predictable","route":"/ideas/idea-bio1-upfront-bypass-combination/"}]}}