International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jan 1998
Multicenter StudyRadiotherapy alone for medically inoperable stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: the Duke experience.
To review our experience treating clinical Stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma with radiotherapy alone using modern techniques and staging. The effect of dose and volume on outcome is to be analyzed. ⋯ Patients with clinical Stage I medically inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer treated with contemporary radiotherapy alone achieved a 5-year cause-specific survival of 32%. Uncontrolled lung cancer was the primary cause of death in these patients, and local failure alone represented the most common mode of failure (42%). Patients who were locally controlled had a significantly improved cause-specific survival over those who failed locally. Because higher doses of radiotherapy appear to provide improved local control, studies of dose escalation are warranted until dose-limiting toxicity is observed.