Preoperative radiotherapy in the combined treatment of lung cancer patients

The results of a cooperative study on combined treatment and preoperative radiotherapy in 478 lung cancer patients were analyzed. Intensive fractionated radiotherapy was given at doses of 4 Gy for 5 days, the total dosage thus attaining 20 Gy. 218 patients received combined treatment, 260 patients were treated only surgically. A comparison of the 5-year survival rates of Stage I and II patients did not show any advantage in favor of the used therapeutic modality. The combined treatment with preoperative radiotherapy, however, improved the survival rates of Stage III patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The 3-year rate in these patients was 49.4% and the 5-year rate was 29.2%, while those found in the patients treated only surgically were 28.1% and 15.8%, respectively. In all patients with regional metastases the effectiveness of the treatment was higher when the combined method was employed.