Curing Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer With Radiotherapy: No Longer an Oxymoron

A quarter of a century has now elapsed since Johnson et al1 published an article with the dispiriting title “Thoracic radiotherapy does not prolong survival in patients with locally advanced, unresectable non–small cell lung cancer.” This was a report of a randomized trial comparing “modern megavoltage radiotherapy” (60Gy in 30 fractions) vs the same radiotherapy plus vindesine vs vindesine alone. The results were indeed disappointing, with median survivals of 8.6, 9.4, and 10.1 months and 5-year survivals of 3%, 3%, and 1% in the 3 arms.
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research