Improved local control with higher doses of radiation in large-volume stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: It has been suggested that larger tumor volume is associated with poor survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated whether high-dose radiation improved local control in patients with large-volume Stage III NSCLC.

Methods And Materials: Seventy-two patients with Stage III NSCLC and gross tumor volumes (GTV) of greater than 100 cc were treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT).