Gan to kagaku ryoho. Cancer & chemotherapy
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This is a review of the recent progress in chemoradiotherapy of locally advanced lung cancer. In the limited disease stage of small cell lung cancer, a meta-analysis showed patients treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy have a statistically significantly longer survival than those with chemotherapy alone. However, the timing of the combination of radiation and chemotherapy has not been clarified. ⋯ Our randomized study indicated the addition of radiotherapy after chemotherapy is superior in long-term survival to chemotherapy alone. The West Japan Lung Cancer Group conduct a phase III randomized study comparing concurrent and sequential chemoradiotherapy, and the determination of survival is now in the follow-up stage. The role of induction chemoradiotherapy before surgical resection, comparison of chemoradiotherapy with induction chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery, and the effects and safety of the combination of new drugs and radiotherapy are now under investigation.