Eight year radiation therapy experience in the treatment of 1129 patients with carcinoma of the lung

1129 patients with a diagnosis of lung carcinoma were seen in the Radiation Therapy Department at the Medical University of South Carolina during the period between January 1, 1969 and June 30, 1977. During this period three distinct methods of treatment can be recognized and the patients are subdivided into three groups designated A, B, and C. (See Table I) The patient acceptance policy has been essentially the same during each treatment period and there has been virtually no rejection or selection of patients. The results in terms of survival have been dismal; however, there is correlation between technique of administering radiation therapy and late complications. These results would support recent data from other institutions and the RTOG studies which suggest that higher doses are needed to obtain local control of primary disease and that large dose fractions are associated with an increased complication rate. Within each treatment group there was a distinct number of patients who received post-operative irradiation because of residual disease, marginal disease, or positive lymph nodes, In Group C, these patients were treated with more aggressive post-operative radiation therapy and the higher dose administered appears to account for an improved survival rate.