Medical News Today describes research indicating that three-dimensional radiation therapy is more effective than traditional radiation therapy. Excerpts below.
Link: Lung Cancer Survival Rate Improved By Modern Radiation
Modern three-dimensional radiation therapy has been proven to be more successful at curing lung cancer than older two-dimensional radiation therapy for some patients with early stage lung cancer, according to a new study in the September 1, 2006 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 87 percent of all lung cancers diagnosed. Currently, the best treatment for stage I NSCLC is surgery or stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), often followed by chemotherapy if the lesion was larger than 3 cm or radiotherapy and chemotherapy if the surgical margin or hilar or mediastinal nodes were positive at the time of operation. The five-year survival outcomes are very high, with 50 to 67 percent of these patients living at least five years after diagnosis if patients had a well staged stage I NSCLC. When surgery is not an option because the patient has heart problems or other complications, treatment options include varying types of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, alone or in combination.
"This study proves that three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy improves outcomes for patients with medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer," said Ritsuko Komaki, M.D. "Patients with this type of lung cancer should ask their radiation oncologist about 3D-CRT." Dr. Komaki is a radiation oncologist and professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
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