How to treat lung cancer

The prognosis of lung cancer treated by radiotherapy is affected by the stage of the disease, the histologic characteristic and the site of the lesion. Locally the damage to lung parenchymal tissue, which has low radiation tolerance is an important factor. In relation to this it is extremely necessary to determine the appropriate dose distribution and dose fractionation for each case. In addition it is important to treat cases aggressively, combining high LET irradiation for resistant lesions, after-loading for residual small lesions and laser vaporization of tumors obstructing the trachea. (author)