Palliative radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer

The palliative treatment of non-small cell lung cancer is very important from a public health standpoint due to the large number of patients who die each year from this disease. Radiation therapy (RT) is an effective modality for the treatment of symptomatic primary intrathoracic disease as well as metastases to the bone and brain. The optimal RT dose schedules have not been clearly established, but the majority of patients will enjoy good symptom relief with acceptably low toxicity from doses in the range of 30 Gy delivered in 10 fractions.