Radiation therapy in the management of patients with unresectable stage IIIA and IIIB non-small cell lung cancer.

Treatment of patients with unresectable stage IIIA and IIIB non-small cell lung cancer with conventional radiation therapy has resulted in poor local control, a high rate of systemic failure, and 5-year survival of less than 10%. Recent modification in radiation treatment planning, dose delivery, and fractionization has demonstrated significantly improved median and 2-year survival, comparable in some trials to that achieved with induction chemotherapy followed by radiation. Current trials focus on combining systemic therapy with dose-intense radiation therapy to improve with local and systemic control.