Inoperable endobronchial obstructing lung carcinoma treated with combined endobronchial and external beam irradiation

Thirty patients with symptomatic inoperable endobronchial obstructing lung cancer received combined external beam radiotherapy and temporary endobronchial iridium Ir 192 implants. External beam irradiation doses ranged from 5700 to 6600 cGy. Patients were given two to four temporary iridium Ir 192 implants for endobronchial radiotherapy. Individual implant doses ranged from 500 to 1500 cGy. Total implant doses ranged from 1125 to 3000 cGy. Total treatment doses ranged from 7080 cGy to 10,000 cGy. Seventy-seven percent of patients had a complete local endobronchial response to treatment, and 13% had a partial response. Ninety percent of patients experienced an improvement in their performance status using an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale. Survival from the end of treatment was 39% at 1 year and 21% at 2 years, with the median survival at 10 months. The data from this study indicate that this form of treatment of inoperable endobronchial obstructing lung cancer is feasible and leads to a high percentage of local tumor response, improvement in patient performance status, and possibly improved survival.