Radiation therapy for patients with asymptomatic lung cancer.

The usefulness of thoracic irradiation was evaluated in 62 patients with asymptomatic Stage III carcinoma of the lung. In 48 patients, the disease was confined to the thorax, in eight supraclavicular nodes were involved, and in six there were distant metastases. Fourteen patients were in poor general conditions as well. Fourteen patients received a short course of irradiation (less than 3,000 rad [30 Gy]), while 48 received radical doses (5,500-6,000 rad [55-60 Gy]). Five patients (8%), all with carcinoma confined to the thorax, survived three years. Radical radiation therapy plays a positive role in the treatment of asymptomatic State III carcinoma of the lung, and may result in tumor control in those patients with no extrathoracic disease.