Use of higher-dose radiation for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer can prevent local spread of disease and improve survival for some patients, according to an article in the November 1st issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 Americans were diagnosed with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer in 2003, with an expected five-year survival rate of only 10 to 20 percent, according to background information in the article. Although addition of chemotherapy can help some patients live longer, in general survival rates are very low, particularly in comparison with other cancers.

In the current study, 72 patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer were split into two groups and treated with different doses of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy in addition to chemotherapy. Of the 37 patients in the group treated with low-dose radiation, 61 percent of patients had disease progression during the first year. By the second year, 76 percent of low-dose patients had suffered a relapse. In contrast, of the 35 patients in the higher-dose group, 27 percent had progression within the first year and 47 percent had a relapse by the second year.

Patients who received the higher dose of radiation also typically lived longer than counterparts receiving the lower dose of radiation. The median survival time was 15 months for patients in the low-dose group compared to 20 months for patients who received the higher dose.

“Although breast cancer and prostate cancer are more prevalent, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among men and women,” said Ramesh Rengan, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “This study shows that higher doses of radiation can help patients with advanced lung cancer to live longer. I’m hopeful that this will help us eventually find a way to cure more patients of this deadly disease.”