Concurrent chemoradiotherapy for inoperable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer

Chemoradiotherapy has become the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer on the basis of several large randomized trials. Despite an increase in median survival from 10 months with radiotherapy alone to 16 to 17 months with concurrent chemoradiotherapy, long-term survival in this disease remains modest at best. With the advent of new biologic agents targeting specific cellular pathways associated with malignant progression, combined-modality therapy has the potential to target tumors selectively with less toxicity.