[The changing role of chemotherapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma stage III].
Non-small cell pulmonary carcinoma stage III occurs in the Netherlands in a heterogeneous group of over 2500 patients annually. The standard treatment is radiotherapy. In view of the fact that 70-80% of the patients in the long run develop metastases, the question was studied if combination therapy (especially with chemotherapy) gives longer survival. Chemotherapy may be administered as systemic treatment preceding radiotherapy, or to enhance the effect of radiotherapy. The results of 11 of the 18 studies of combination treatment compared with monotherapy published since 1990 show a statistically significantly slightly longer survival after combination therapy (two other studies involved too few patients to demonstrate statistically significant differences). The difference was maximal after approximately 3 years.
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Afd. Interne Oncologie, Academisch Ziekenhuis Rotterdam-Dijkzigt.
D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging