Researchers recently reported that patients older than age 65 who have nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) live longer with combined radiation therapy and chemotherapy compared to those treated with radiation therapy alone. However, severe side effects were more common for patients treated with combined therapy. These included anemia, leucopenia and pneuominitis.

Older patients with stage 3 NSCLC were treated with etoposide and cisplatin administered concurrently with once-daily or twice-daily radiation therapy. Patients survived a median of 10.5 months when receiving radiation alone and 13.7 months when receiving the combined therapy. Five-year survival rates were 5.4 percent for radiation therapy alone and 14.7 percent for combination therapy.

The study appears in the July 15, 2007, issue of Cancer.