Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Dynamic Lung Tumor Tracking for Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiation Therapy
Published on: June 7, 2015
Radical Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: When Should Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy Not Be
1Maastricht University Medical Center, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO Clinic), Maastricht, The Netherlands; KU Leuven, Radiation Oncology, Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy confers a significant, but small, benefit for overall survival compared with sequential chemoradiotherapy. The improvement of about 4% with a hazard ratio of 0.85 has only been proven for fit patients with a good organ function. From non-randomised trials, there are no indications that concurrent chemoradiotherapy is clearly superior to the sequential approach in other patients. Moreover, radiotherapy alone can lead to 5 year survival rates of 20%. As the differences in long-term survival between the treatment options are small, even fit patients should be offered, via a shared decision process, the choice between concurrent and non-concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In less fit patients, sequential chemoradiotherapy offers a chance for long-term survival and cure with less toxicity than the concurrent approach.
