Efficacy of radiotherapy in unresectable lung cancer

Data on 203 patients with locally advanced lung cancer subjected to exploratory thoracotomy were studied: the 1st group- 68 patients received symptomatic therapy only, the 2nd group- 71 patients received a palliative course of radiotherapy, and the 3rd group- 64 patients were on radiotherapy after a radical program. Radiotherapy in the 3rd group was performed after a split course using staged change of dose fractionation regiments. The use of the palliative radiotherapy course brought about a subjective effect in 39.05% of patients but had no effect upon their survival. Radiotherapy after a radical program resulted in a subjective effect in 82.8+-5.2% of patients and objective improvement in 56.36%. The mean survival time of the patients in the 3rd group was twice as much as compared to the patients in the 1st group, being 13.8 mos. versus 6 mos. In the 3rd group 15.4+-7.2% of the patients lived over 3 yrs. whereas none of the patients in the 1st and 2nd groups had survived by that time. Better results were obtained in the group of patients with epidermoid lung cancer