ROLE OF RADIATION-THERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LUNG-CANCER

Most patients who have lung cancer will receive radiation therapy at s ome point during the course of their disease. For patients with non-sm all-cell lung cancer, radiation therapy is sometimes used after comple te resection, particularly in patients with lymph node involvement. In addition, irradiation is commonly used after incomplete resection. In patients with unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer, radiation ther apy alone is typically used, although recent studies of a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or radiation therapy given in t wice-daily fractions, have yielded promising results. For patients wit h small-cell lung cancer who have limited (that is, nonmetastatic) dis ease, the addition of thoracic radiation therapy to chemotherapy has i mproved survival over that with chemotherapy only. The role of prophyl actic cranial irradiation in small-cell lung cancer remains controvers ial. Radiation therapy has a major role in the management of locally r ecurrent and metastatic lung cancer. Both the bones and the brain are common metastatic sites in patients with lung cancer. Radiation therap y provides effective palliation of symptoms from these and other metas tatic lesions.