[Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)]

The goal of radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is to improve the survival rate of patients without increasing treatment-related toxicity and to improve patients' quality of life. Several prospective randomized trials have demonstrated a survival advantage in combined modality treatment over radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone when a cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen is utilized in the treatment plan. Combined modality treatment of cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy is standard treatment for selected patients such as those with better performance status with locally or regionally advanced lung cancer including T3-T4 or N2-N3. Determining the contribution of new agents in combined modality treatment will require carefully designed and conducted clinical trials. High-dose involved field radiation therapy using 3D-conformal radiation therapy potentially enables the use of higher doses than standard radiation therapy, because less normal tissue is irradiated, and may improve local control and survival. The combination of radiotherapy with chemotherapy and dose escalation using 3D-conformal radiation therapy is also a possibility in unresectable NSCLC. In surgery cases, the results of several Phase III trials of cisplatin-based preoperative chemotherapy have suggested survival improvement. But the concept needs to be tested in a larger Phase III trial.