Southwest Oncology Group: two decades of experience in non-small cell lung cancer.

Over the past two decades, studies of the Southwest Oncology Group have consistently reported stable esophagitis rates despite changing scales with concurrent chest radiotherapy and cisplatin/etoposide regimens. Patient selection has perhaps contributed to increased survival over this period. The Southwest Oncology Group has incorporated surgical questions and advanced the field with a steady use of consistent therapies (ie, cisplatin/etoposide plus radiotherapy of 45 Gy [induction therapy] and cisplatin/etoposide plus at least 61 Gy) in potentially operable or unresectable disease. Further studies examining the addition of either docetaxel or novel agents to such regimens are underway.