Concurrent Radiochemotherapy with Vinorelbine plus Cisplatin or Carboplatin in Patients with Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and an Increased Risk of Treatment Complications

Abstract

Conventionally fractionated radiochemotherapy with vinorelbine plus a platinum derivative is feasible in patients with NSCLC and increased risk of treatment complications. Compared to patient populations described in the literature, the survival rates achieved by concurrent radiochemotherapy appear to be better than those achieved with radiotherapy alone.

6-Year Experience of Concurrent Radiochemotherapy with Vinorelbine Plus a Platinum Compound in Multimorbid or Aged Patients with Inoperable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

“…Since the last publication [12], the rate of acute local complications, i.e., esophagitis and pneumonitis (CTC grades 3 and 4), have remained consistently low. These low values cannot be attributed and correlated to any single factor.…”

“…Our group presented its preliminary results on concurrent radiochemotherapy (RCT) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in poor general health in 2003 [12]. By now, it is generally accepted that concurrent RCT results in longer survival than sequential RCT in patients with inoperable NSCLC who are in good general health.…”

Influence of Calculation Algorithm on Dose Distribution in Irradiation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

“…In the past, the results achieved with conventional external-beam radiotherapy were poor [11]. In contrast to conventional radiotherapy, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DRT) based on a three-dimensional treatment planning system (3DPS) provides the possibility to deliver higher radiation doses to the tumor simultaneously sparing normal tissues [2,5,7,9,13,15,16,20]. The advantage of 3DPS is not only to optimize the treatment technique but also to take tissue inhomogeneities into account for dose calculation.…”

Radiation Sensitization by Inhibition of Activated Ras

“…Combined treatment has become standard in tumors such as gastrointestinal tumors [76], lung cancer [69], head and neck cancer (HNC) [42], and bladder cancer [60]. Nevertheless, failure rates in patients with the above quoted tumors are still high [33] and toxicity is limiting for more aggressive protocols [65]. Molecular-targeted combinations with radiation could increase efficacy of radiotherapy and circumvent increased toxicity.…”