Complexity of Radiation Therapy Planning Tied to Longer Survival for Elderly With Advanced Stage Lung Cancer

Patients 65 and older with stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer benefited from a greater complexity in radiation therapy planning, according to a recent study published in Cancer.

Increasing the complexity of radiation therapy planning significantly improved overall survival in a study of 1,733 patients diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 who received chemotherapy and radiation therapy for lung cancer. Intermediate and complex planning were both associated with better overall survival, according to Benjamin Goldsmith, B.A., Jamie Cesaretti, M.D., and Juan P. Wisnivesky, M.D., in “Radiotherapy Planning Complexity and Survival After Treatment of Advanced Stage Lung Cancer in the Elderly,” published June 30, 2009, in Cancer.

A majority of the patients assessed, 1, 138, had received intermediate radiation therapy planning, the authors stated.

“The use of more complex radiation therapy planning and simulation methods is associated with better survival in elderly patients with stage IIIB NSCLC,” the authors concluded. “Although these results should be further validated in prospective clinical trials, these data suggest that complex planning may improve the outcomes of these patients.”