The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has revised its radiation therapy guideline for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The society's new recommendation is to combine palliative thoracic external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with chemotherapy for patients with stage III NSCLC who are not eligible for curative-intent therapy; are candidates for chemotherapy; have a performance status of 0, 1, or 2 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale; and have a life expectancy of at least three months.
For dosing, the society recommends platinum-containing doublet chemotherapy and EBRT with a moderately hypofractionated approach.
The update was based on a systematic literature review of 31 randomized clinical studies published between March 2010 and July 2016. A task force including radiation oncologists specializing in lung cancer, a medical oncologist, and a community practice representative led the review.
All updated changes to the guideline were published online April 3 in ASTRO's Practical Radiation Oncology clinical practice journal and received endorsements from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) and the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO).
